The Efficacy of Chemotherapy in Survival of Esophageal Cancer with Bone Metastasis: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis of the SEER Database

Abstract Background The esophageal cancer patients with bone metastasis present with an extremely poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to establish a comprehensive insight into whether chemotherapy is justifiably being prescribed to esophageal cancer patients with bone metastasis. Methods A population-based retrospective study was conducted with data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) national database. By performing 1:1 paired match propensity score matching (PSM), we minimized the baseline discrepancies between groups. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with survival. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were used to assess the effects of chemotherapy on survival. Results The final PSM cohort consisted of 730 patients, including 365 patients in the chemotherapy group and 365 patients in the non-chemotherapy group. There was a significant difference in overall survival (OS, p < 0.001) and cancer-specific survival (CSS, p < 0.001) between the two groups. The median OS time for the chemotherapy group was 9.8 (95% CI: 8.5–11.2) months, and it was decreased to 2.3 (95% CI 1.9–2.7) months in the non-chemotherapy group. Multivariate analysis confirmed that chemotherapy was an independent prognostic factor for OS (p < 0.001) and CSS (p < 0.001). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis suggested that chemotherapy could significantly improve OS (p < 0.001) and CSS (p < 0.001) both in squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma subgroup. However, there was no significant difference in both OS (p = 0.291) and CSS (p = 0.651) between the two groups for stage Ⅰ esophageal carcinoma. Conclusion Chemotherapy significantly improved OS and CSS in esophageal cancer patients with bone metastasis. However, chemotherapy might not improve the prognosis of grade I esophageal cancer.