Treatment of esophageal carcinoma with multiple fractions per day (MFD) combined with the Field in field technique

Twelve patients with esophageal carcinoma were irradiated by multiple fractions per day (MFD) with the Field in field (FIF) technique. The treatment program consisted of two fractions per day : a dose of 2.0 Gy was delivered to the large (outer) field including primary lesion with safety margin and 1.1 Gy to the localized (inner) field including gross disease with 4 to 6 hours interval, for 20 days, 4 days a week. The total tumor dose was 62 Gy/40 f/5 w. Acute and subacute complications were tolerable and eight of 12 cases (66.7 %) appeared complete response by endoscopic evaluation. The efficacy of this method was suggested by good local control and acceptable early complications. (author)