The main curative treatment modality for esophageal cancer is resection. Patients initially deemed suitable for resection may become unsuitable, most commonly due to signs of generalized disease or having become unfit for surgery. The aim was to assess risk factors for abandoning esophagectomy and its impact on survival. All patients diagnosed with an esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer in the Swedish National Register for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer from 2006-2016 were included and risk factors associated with becoming ineligible for resection were analyzed in multivariable logistic regression analysis. Overall survival was explored by multivariable Cox regression models. Among 1,792 patients planned for resection, 189 (11%) became unsuitable for resection before surgery and 114 (6%) had exploratory surgery without resection. Intermediate and high educational levels were associated with an increased probability of resection (odds ratio (OR) 1.46, 95% CI 1.05-2.05, OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.28-2.87, respectively) as was marital status (married: OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.01-1.85). Clinically advanced disease (cT4: OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.16-0.87; cN3: OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.09-0.81) and neoadjuvant treatment were associated with a decreased probability of resection (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.46-0.88). Five-year survival for non-resected patients was only 4.5% although neoadjuvant treatment was associated with improved survival (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.56-0.99). Non-resected patients with squamous cell carcinoma had comparatively reduced survival (HR 1.64, 95% CI 1.10-2.43). High socioeconomic status was associated with an increased probability of completing the plan to resect whereas clinically advanced disease and neoadjuvant treatment were independent factors associated with increased risk of abandoning resectional intent.