Proposal of a coagulation score to predict postoperative survival of patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy followed by subtotal esophagectomy for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

448 Background: Despite advances in multimodality treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the recurrence rate after curative resection remains high. Assessment of the risk of disease recurrences after curative resection of ESCC will be helpful for optimization of individual patient management. The close association between coagulation status and progression of malignant tumors has been previously reported. We herein sought to identify sensitive prognostic factors in ESCC by combining multiple coagulation markers. Methods: A total of 200 patients who underwent curative subtotal esophagectomy after neoadjuvant treatment for ESCC between January 2012 and December 2020 were included in the analysis. We retrospectively evaluated the correlation of preoperative plasma D-dimer (upper limit of normal, 1.0 μg/mL), fibrinogen (upper limit of normal, 350 mg/dL) levels and the coagulation score, which is calculated by combining levels of D-dimer and fibrinogen, with postoperative prognosis. The coagulation score was determined as follows. 0, neither D-dimer nor fibrinogen were elevated; 1, either D-dimer or fibrinogen was above the upper limit of normal; 2, both were elevated. Results: There was no significant difference in postoperative recurrence-free survival between the high and low groups for either preoperative D-dimer alone or preoperative fibrinogen alone. 59 patients (29.5%), 99 patients (49.5%) and 42 patients (21%) were categorized into coagulation score 0, 1 and 2, respectively. Patients in the coagulation score 1-2 group had a significantly shorter recurrence-free survival time than those in the coagulation score 0 group (hazard ratio 1.99, P = 0.0223). Conclusions: The coagulation score combining with plasma D-dimer and fibrinogen levels was suggested to be a simple predictor of postoperative recurrences in patients undergoing curative subtotal esophagectomy after neoadjuvant treatment for ESCC.