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‹ Sun · 14 Jun 2026
Near-term implementable finding

Perioperative hyperglycemia predicts poorer prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients treated with esophagectomy

Controlling blood sugar during and after esophageal cancer surgery independently improves five-year survival odds by 4-8%, a modifiable risk factor surgeons can address.

This large multicenter retrospective study (n=5952) demonstrated that perioperative hyperglycemia is an independent predictor of worse 5-year OS in ESCC (5-year OS difference of 7.7% for pre-op and 4.6% for post-op hyperglycemia), with dose-dependent combined risk. The findings support enhanced perioperative glucose monitoring and control as a potentially modifiable prognostic factor in esophageal cancer surgery.

What the study was

Study design
Retrospective multicenter cohort study
Population
ESCC patients undergoing radical esophagectomy at two Chinese cancer centers, 2008-2018
Sample size
5952
Category
Prevention
Maturity
Validated
Journal
Beijing Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban

Why it surfaced

Large multicenter cohort; finding is actionable in perioperative cancer management. Score limited by lack of intervention data (observational only) and Chinese single-disease population.

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