The significance of neuroendocrine differentiation in adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction after preoperative chemoradiation

Background: Esophageal and esophagogastric junction (EGJ) adenocarcinomas frequently have neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation, but the significance of NE differentiation in patients who have undergone preoperative chemoradiation and resection remains unclear.

Methods: The authors evaluated the presence of NE differentiation in esophageal and EGJ adenocarcinomas by immunohistochemistry for chromogranin A and synaptophysin and evaluated the clinical significance of NE differentiation in 83 patients (10 patients who had a complete tumor response and 73 patients who had residual tumor in resection specimens) who received preoperative chemoradiation.

Results: Of 73 patients who had residual tumor after preoperative treatment, 52% showed NE differentiation. The proportion of tumor cells with NE differentiation had increased from 6% +/- 18% in pretreatment biopsy specimens to 47% +/- 42% (P = .00003) in posttreatment resection specimens in 30 patients who had paired pretreatment biopsy and resection specimens available. Disease-free survival (P = .002) and overall survival (P = .006) were significantly better in patients who had a complete tumor response than in patients who had residual tumor. Among patients who had residual tumor after preoperative chemoradiation, disease-free survival (P = .03) and overall survival (P = .045) were significantly better in patients who had residual tumor without NE differentiation than in patients who had residual tumor with NE differentiation. In multivariate analysis, the presence of NE differentiation in residual tumor was a prognostic factor for worse disease-free survival (P = .02) independent of pathologic stage and extent of residual tumor.

Conclusions: The results from this study suggested that tumor cells with NE differentiation were more resistant to neoadjuvant chemoradiation in patients with esophageal and EGJ adenocarcinomas. The presence of NE differentiation in residual tumor was associated with poor survival after preoperative neoadjuvant therapy.