Abstract: To explore the related risk factors and treatment strategies of anastomotic leakage after radical esophagectomy. Methods A total of 684 patients with esophageal cancer who were treated in our hospital from January 2009 to January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.Seventeen factors that might affect the occurrence of postoperative anastomotic leakage were included in the study,mainly including clinical and tumor related factors. Results Preoperative serum albumin levels,surgical methods,anastomotic position,and tumor TNM stage were closely related to postoperative anastomotic leakage in patients with esophageal cancer(P<0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that preoperative serum albumin levels and tumor TNM stage are independent risk factors(P<0.05).The incidence of anastomotic leakage was 21.2%(7/33) in patients with serum albumin level <35g/L and 6.6%(43/651) in patients with albumin level ≥ 35g/L,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The incidence of anastomotic leakage in patients with TNM stage Ⅲ was 9.8%(31/315),which was significantly higher than that of 5.1%(19/369) in patients with stage 0+Ⅰ+Ⅱ(P<0.05). Conclusion Preoperative serum albumin levels and tumor TNM stage are independent risk factors of postoperative anastomotic leakage in patients with esophageal cancer.

Key words: esophageal cancer, anastomotic leakage, risk factors