Background: The preoperative immunological condition of patients with malignant tumors should be considered in determining the prognosis.
Methods: A lymphoblastic transformation test in which lymphocytes were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was performed for 155 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
Results: Multivariate analysis demonstrated that a lower preoperative PHA response (p = 0.028), as well as the depth of the tumor (p = 0.011), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0003), lymphatic permeation (p = 0.002), and the incidence of postoperative complication (p = 0.016) were independent factors associated with a poor prognosis for patients with SCC of the esophagus.
Conclusions: A suppressed PHA response is an additional significant prognosticator for SCC of the esophagus.