Eight-year patient survival following multidisciplinary management for two recurrences of esophageal cancer: case report and literature review

Introduction and importance: Esophageal cancer (EC) is a malignant gastrointestinal cancer with a high rate of recurrence and metastasis. The standard treatment for primary EC is surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy (RT), or their combination. However, no standard treatment has yet been established for EC recurrence. Case presentation: A 64-year-old man with unresectable EC underwent chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery. Two subsequent recurrences were treated with multidisciplinary management combining surgery, chemotherapy, and RT, resulting in curative treatment. Currently, the patient continues to receive paclitaxel chemotherapy as an outpatient, with no third recurrence detected on imaging. Clinical discussion: Although EC is a malignant disease with a high recurrence rate after curative treatment, systematic treatment methods for recurrence are lacking. While surgery improves prognosis in cases of local recurrence in the lungs or lymph nodes, its effectiveness in other organ recurrences has not yet been proven. In cases of rare recurrence sites, such as the ribs or muscles, disease control has been achieved through multidisciplinary treatment. Conclusion: Multidisciplinary treatment for two recurrences of EC has achieved disease control and long-term survival. This strategy may be an effective option for managing EC recurrence.