The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Mar 2020
Results of surgical treatment for primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus: A multicenter retrospective study.
Few large-sample research data sets exist on long-term survival and prognostic factors among patients with primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME), a rare malignancy associated with poor outcomes. We sought to investigate postoperative survival and prognostic factors in patients with PMME. ⋯ Female sex, pN0, increased number of lymph nodes dissected, and postoperative adjuvant therapy were associated with better outcomes among patients with PMME. Preoperative pathologic diagnosis of PMME was low, patients had lymph node metastasis (even those with early-stage tumors), and regional lymph node recurrence was common.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Mar 2020
EditorialCommentary: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
While microscopically positive bronchial margins were not associated with worse survival in this paper, only 28 patients had invasion at the margin, making the data difficult to interpret.