Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy Outperforms Open Esophagectomy for Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer

Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) demonstrated superior outcomes over open esophagectomy (OE) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. MIE patients had lower postoperative complications, higher R0 resection rate, better 3-year survival rates, and reduced locoregional recurrence. This benefit was especially pronounced in patients with CT3-4 tumors. Overall, MIE proved more advantageous for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases.