survival rate of esophageal carcinoma in iran-a systematic review and meta-analysis

background: esophageal cancer is often diagnosed in the last stages where the chance of patient’s survival is very low. the aim of this systematic review was presentation of valid estimation of survival in patients with esophageal cancer in different regions of iran. methods: a systematic review was carried out based on the reliable domestic medical databases including: sid, magiran, irandoc and iranmedex as well as reliable foreign databases like pubmed and scopus using “cancer”, “esophagus”, “survival” “neoplasms” and “longevity” as keywords. then all the reviewed articles and dissertations which met the entry criteria were analyzed. the data were analyzed by using meta-analysis method (random model) and by means of stata software application version 11.1. results: in 18 studies the total numbers of 2932 people were analyzed. the one year survival rate in iran is estimated at 47 percent (95% ci: 34-61) and the five year survival rate is estimated at 12% (95% ci: 8-16). the two, three and four year survival rates were 31% (95% ci: 18-44), 22% (95% ci: 13-31) and 21% (95% ci: 4-38), respectively. conclusion: according to the findings one year survival rate for esophageal cancer in iran is almost four times higher than its five year survival rate. moreover the five year survival rate in iran is less than many other countries.   keywords: esophageal neoplasm; survival rate; meta-analysis; systematic review please cite this article as: yarhusseini a, sharifzadeh l, delpisheh a, veisani y, sayehmiri f, sayehmiri k. survival rate of esophageal carcinoma in iran - a systematic review and meta-analysis. iran j cancer prev. 2014; 7(2):61-5.  references 1.   parkin d, laara e, muir c. estimates of the world-wide frequency of sixteen major cancer in1980. int j cancer. 1988; 41(2):97-184. 2.   stathopoulos g, tsiaras n. epidemiology and pathogenesis of esophageal cancer: management and its controversial results review. oncol rep. 2003; 10(2):449-57. 3.   hormozdiari h, day n, aramesh b, mahboubi e. dietryfactors and esophageal cancer in the caspian littoral of iran. cancer research. 1975;35(3493-34). 4.   terry ms, candet mm, cammon md. the epidemiology gastric cancer, carcinoma radiationoncol 2002; 111-27. 5.   hajian k, sedaqhat s, sadeghi f. 5-year survival kate in patients whithesophagealcancer referred to shahidrajaiirad: therapycenter in babolsar; 1992-97. (persian) j babol university of medical sciences. 2001; 99(3):21-8. 6.   mohagheghi ma., musavi jarahi a, shariat torbaghan s, zeraati h. annual report of tehran university of medical sciences district cancer registry 1997. the cancer institute publication. 1998. 7.   azizi f, janghorbani m, hatami h. epidemiology and control of common disorders in iran. 3, editor. tehran: khosrovi; 2010. 8.   vaziri m, hashmi s, pazoki a, zahdishoolami l. assessment of pulmonary coplications following transhiatalesophagectomy in 122 patients. iran surgery journal. 2007; 16(1):66-71. 9.   alexiou c, khan oa, black e, field ml, onyeaka p, beggs l, et al. survival after esophageal resection for carcinoma: the importance of the histologic cell type. ann thorac surg 2006; 82(3):1073-7. 10. hajian-tilaki ko. factors affecting the survival of patients with oesophageal carcinoma under radiotherapy in the north of iran. br j cancer. 2001; 85(11):1671-4. 11. agrawal d, meekison l, walker ws. long-term clinical results of thoracoscopic heller's myotomy in the treatment of achalasia. eur j cardiothorac surg. 2008; 34(2):423-6. 12. bashash m, yavari p, hislop tg, shah a, sadjadi a, babaei m, et al. comparison of two diverse populations, british columbia, canada, and ardabil, iran, indicates several variables associated with gastric and esophageal cancer survival. j gastrointest cancer. 2011; 42(1):40-5. 13. scarpa m, valente s, alfieri r, cagol m, diamantis g, ancona e, et al. systematic review of health-related quality of life after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. world j gastroenterol. 2011; 17(42):4660-74. 14. tamura t, kuwahara a, yamamori m, nishiguchi k, nakamura t, okuno t, et al. vegf634- c/g genotype is predictive of long-term survival after treatment with a definitive 5-fluorouracil/cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy in japanese patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. int j med sci. 2012; 9(10):833-7. 15. blackmon sh, correa am, skoracki r, chevray pm, kim mp, mehran rj, et al. supercharged pedicledjejunal interposition for esophageal replacement: a 10-year experience. ann thorac surg. 2012; 94(4):1104-11.