Treatment Outcomes of Esophageal Cancer

Primary outcomes

1. Proportion of esophageal cancer (EC) participants receiving treatment with varying treatment modalities at participating AfrECC sites

   Time frame: Up to 4 years

   Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the proportion of EC patients receiving treatment with each modality at participating AfrECC sites. The investigators will assess the associations between demographic and clinicopathologic characteristic and treatment modalities employed (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, chemo-radiation, esophageal stenting, esophagectomy, supportive care alone, or a combination of these treatments)

2. Change in scores of the Modified Rosenblatt Index over time

   Time frame: Up to 4 years

   The 6-item Modified Rosenblatt Index by Rosenblatt, et al. adapted for use within a resource-limited context evaluates EC related parameters scored on a Likert scale assessing presence and severity of symptoms: Odynophagia (0=no pain on swallowing to 3=severe pain); Dysphagia (0=normal, no dysphagia to 4=unable to swallow saliva); Regurgitation (0=never to 3=constant); Chest and/or Back Pain (0=no pain to 2=pain not relieved by non-narcotics or requiring opiate medication); World Health Organization (WHO) performance status/Overall Well-Being (0="A lot better" to 4="A lot worse"). Scores will be assessed at the following time points: Baseline, 1 month and 3 months after initiation of treatment, and every 3 months thereafter.

3. Median Overall Survival

   Time frame: Up to 4 years

   Survival will be defined as the time elapsed from date of diagnosis (either confirmed or date of diagnostic modality leading to presumptive clinical diagnosis) to date of death. For participants who are not deceased, censorship will be performed on the date when the participant was last known to be alive.