Pathological complete response in 3 patients with esophageal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for esophageal cancer is standard in Japan. However, the value of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (NACRT) is unknown. Thirteen patients with cStage 2 and 3 squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus were treated with NACRT (CDDP 70 mg/m²/day on day 1, 5-FU 70 mg/m²/day on days 1-4, radiation 30 Gy/15 Fr) . We report 3 pathological CR cases and 10 non-CR cases of esophageal cancer. Between the CR and non-CR group there was no difference in the incidence of postoperative complications. No serious adverse events were observed. There were no significant differences in OS and RFS. Five cases relapsed in the non-CR group. There were no relapsed cases in the CR group. (author)