Evaluating Pleural Lavage Cytology in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Resectable Esophageal Cancer

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying the value of pleural lavage cytology PLC in patients with esophageal cancer who are undergoing surgery to remove their tumors. The study aims to find out how often positive PLC results occur, how PLC results relate to patient survival, and how effective postoperative treatments are in these patients. PLC has been linked to disease recurrence and survival in lung cancer, but its role in esophageal cancer is not yet clear. During the study, pleural lavage samples will be collected both before and after esophageal tumor removal surgery. The frequency of positive PLC results will be recorded to evaluate its significance for patients with resectable esophageal cancer. This observational study involves no drug treatments but focuses on monitoring and assessing PLC findings around the surgical procedure. Participants will undergo pleural lavage before and after surgery, and researchers will follow their outcomes over time. The main measure is the number of patients with positive pleural lavage cytology within one year after starting the study. Secondary measures include the time from surgery to death, tracked up to four years. This long-term follow-up helps assess the relationship between PLC results and patient survival, with data collected from July 2022 through July 2027.

Value of Pleural Lavage Cytology in Resectable Esophageal Carcinoma Eastern Cooperative Thoracic Oncology Projects 2005, ECTOP-2005)