Treatment results of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery for stage III or IV esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment outcome of preoperative neoadjuvant radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy (CTx) for 17 esophageal cancer patients. Between 1992 and 2004, patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer (stage III or IV) before curative-intent surgery received radiotherapy (RT) combined with CTx (Cisplatin: 75 mg/m2, bolus infusion, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU): 1,000 mg/m2/24 h, continuous infusion for 4 days) at a median total dose of 30 Gy (n=17). The median survival period was 13.8 months. The overall survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 75%, 40%, and 20%, respectively. According to univariate analysis, no factor of worse prognosis was found. Pathological markedly (Grade 3) or moderately (Grade 2) effects were observed in 4 patients (24%) and 8 patients (47%), respectively. These results indicate that, although this regimen was effective in terms of pathological effect, it is unclear whether it made a contribution to the improvement of survival rate. (author)