PD09.05. Emulating a Target Trial of Intermittent Eating Strategies and Long-Term Symptom Control in 10-Year Esophageal Cancer Survivors

Clicks: 22
ID: 325946
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Steady

Ranked #71 of 453 articles by views in diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the international society for diseases of the esophagus

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 453 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Abstract Topic Esophageal Cancer: Other Background With increasing long-term survival after esophageal cancer, optimizing symptom control and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has become a central goal of survivorship care. However, evidence-based dietary strategies for long-term survivors remain limited. We aimed to evaluate whether intermittent eating–related behaviors are associated with improved long-term symptom control using a target trial emulation (TTE) framework. Methods We emulated a hypothetical randomized controlled trial among esophageal cancer survivors who had survived for at least 10 years after curative treatment. Time zero was defined as the baseline follow-up assessment. Intermittent eating was defined according to daily fasting duration, timing of the eating window, and long-term adherence, with stable intermittent eating specified as a fasting duration >14 hours maintained for at least 10 months within a one-year period. Additional eating-related behaviors, including meal fullness, postprandial posture, bedtime eating, and the frequency of high-fat or spicy foods, as well as coffee, tea, and carbonated beverage intake, were assessed. Outcomes included reflux, dysphagia, pain, and health-related quality of life, measured using the EORTC QLQ-OES18 and patient-reported dietary quality scores. Confounding was addressed using propensity score–based weighting, with sensitivity analyses performed to reduce potential reverse causation. Results Among 536 esophageal cancer survivors who had survived for at least 10 years, stable intermittent eating characterized by fasting durations exceeding 14 hours, moderate meal fullness, and multiple intermittent meals per day was associated with higher health-related quality of life and a lower symptom burden. In contrast, postprandial recumbency within two hours, bedtime eating, and frequent consumption of spicy foods (>3 times per week) were associated with increased risks of pain, gastroesophageal reflux, and eating-related discomfort. These associations remained consistent across sensitivity analyses. Conclusion In this target trial emulation, time-structured eating patterns characterized by prolonged fasting, moderated meal intake, and avoidance of late or postprandial recumbent eating were associated with improved long-term symptom control among esophageal cancer survivors. These findings support incorporating structured dietary guidance into long-term survivorship care.
Reference Key
openalex_W7204002534 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors L. Chen, Yixin Liu, Yushang Yang
Are you one of these authors? Claim your profile
Journal diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the international society for diseases of the esophagus
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/dote/doag077.144
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/dote/doag077.144
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.