Fig. 2

For patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, no significant difference was shown in overall survival (log rank = 0.238; P = 0.626) (a) and disease-free survival (log rank = 1.484; P = 0.223) (b) between patients who underwent open surgery and minimal invasive procedure. For patients received neoadjuvant chemoradiation, patients in MIE group had significant better overall survival (log rank = 6.197; P = 0.013) (c) than those in the open esophagectomy group, but no difference regarding disease-free survival (log rank = 1.916; P = 0.166) (d)