Definitive chemoradiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus: Outcomes for borderline-resectable disease

Satoshi Ishikura, Takuhito Kondo, Taro Murai, Yoshiyuki Ozawa, Takeshi Yanagi, Chikao Sugie, Akifumi Miyakawa, Yuta Shibamoto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) is the standard treatment for unresectable esophageal cancer. Induction chemotherapy has been actively investigated for borderline-resectable and unresectable disease, but the superiority over dCRT has yet to be confirmed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of dCRT with special interest in borderline-resectable disease. Patients with esophageal cancer treated with dCRT between January 2004 and November 2016 were included in this retrospective analysis. Chemotherapy consisted of two cycles of cisplatin (70-75 mg/m2) on day 1 and 5-fluorouracil (700-1000 mg/m2 per day) on days 1-4 or low-dose cisplatin (10 mg/m2 per day) and 5-fluorouracil (175 mg/m2 per day) for 20 days. Radiotherapy was given with a daily fraction of 1.8-2 Gy to a total dose of 50-70 Gy. A total of 104 patients were included: 34 were resectable, 35 were borderline-resectable and 35 were unresectable. Complete response was achieved in 44 patients (42%). Eighteen patients (17%) suffered Grade 2 or greater cardiopulmonary toxicity and seven patients (7%) suffered Grade 3 cardiopulmonary toxicity. At the time of this analysis, 59 patients were dead and 45 were censored. The 3-year overall survival proportions for resectable, borderline-resectable and unresectable patients were 64%, 46% and 21%, respectively. The overall survival for borderline-resectable patients with complete response and noncomplete response was significantly different (P < 0.001), with 3-year survival of 70% and 8%, respectively. The overall survival for complete response patients with borderline-resectable disease was encouraging. Further investigation to find a subgroup fit for esophagus-preserving treatment is warranted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)464-469
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Radiation Research
Volume61
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 08-04-2020
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Radiation
  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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