The effect of time interval on esophagectomy after neoadjuvant treatment

The optimal time interval of esophagectomy after neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma remains largely unknown. Several prospective randomized trials describe a time interval of 3–8 weeks between neoadjuvant therapy and esophagectomy (1-3). Extremely prolonged observation after neoadjuvant therapy may lead to salvage esophagectomy which was reported to have a 3-fold increase in perioperative mortality (4). Esophagectomy timing after neoadjuvant therapy has been examined in a few retrospective analyses, with divergent conclusions (5-8)