Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy in Patients with Surgically Treated Esophageal Cancer

• Published in: Acta oncologica 2001, Vol.40 (5), p.558-565
• Main Author: Halvor Vermund, Walter J. Pories, Jessica Hillard, Albert L. Wiley, Robert Youngblood
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - drug therapy; Adenocarcinoma - mortality; Adenocarcinoma - radiotherapy; Adenocarcinoma - surgery; Adenocarcinoma - therapy; Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - adverse effects; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - mortality; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - radiotherapy; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - surgery; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - therapy; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant - adverse effects; Cisplatin - administration & dosage; Cisplatin - adverse effects; Clinical Trials as Topic; Combined Modality Therapy; Combined treatments (chemotherapy of immunotherapy associated with an other treatment); Disease-Free Survival; Dose Fractionation, Radiation; Esophageal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Esophageal Neoplasms - mortality; Esophageal Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Esophageal Neoplasms - surgery; Esophageal Neoplasms - therapy; Esophagectomy; Female; Fluorouracil - administration & dosage; Fluorouracil - adverse effects; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Preoperative Care; Radiotherapy Dosage; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant - adverse effects; Retrospective Studies; Survival Analysis; Treatment Outcome; Vinblastine - administration & dosage; Vinblastine - adverse effects
• ISSN: 0284-186X; 1651-226X
• DOI: 10.1080/028418601750444088

Over the past 10 years, 232 patients were treated at the East Carolina School of Medicine for cancer of the esophagus. Of these, 73 received neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy and subsequent surgical resection. The results in this group suggest improved cancer control, with 18 patients (25%) remaining free of recurrence 3 years after treatment, compared with 11 out of 159 patients (7%) in the group that was not treated with neoadjuvant therapy (p < 0.0001). The 5-year recurrence-free survival with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery was 16% (12/73) compared with 3% (5/159) with other types of therapy. Two protocols of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy with subsequent surgery were compared: I: Split-course, once-a-day radiotherapy and concomitant cisplatinum/5-fluorouracil followed by esophagectomy. II: Accelerated, twice-a-day radiotherapy with concomitant triple chemotherapy using cisplatinum/5-fluorouracil/vinblastine followed by transhiatal extrathoracic esophagectomy. The survival rate was similar in the two groups of patients but the complication rate was higher in group II. Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy and the techniques of transhiatal esophagectomy may have contributed to the improved results in the treatment of esophageal carcinoma. Accelerated radiotherapy with triple chemotherapy was more toxic and did not give better survival rates than split-course, once-a-day, conventional, fractionated-protracted radiotherapy combined with two drugs.