Unresectable nonmetastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus managed by sequential chemotherapy (cisplatin and bleomycin) and radiation therapy

Abstract

Background. For patients with unresectable non‐metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE), the conventional treatment has been radiation therapy (RT). Because RT alone is unsatisfactory, there has been increasing interest in including chemotherapy (CT) in the management of these patients. Methods. Twenty‐five previously untreated patients with unresectable nonmetastatic SCCE were treated with sequential CT and RT. CT consisted of cisplatin 35 mg/m2/day for 3 days plus bleomycin 15 mg/ day for 3 days as an 18–hour infusion every 3 weeks. After three courses of CT, RT was administered (dose, 200 rads/day with a planned total dose of 50–60 Gy). Results. Nineteen tumors were T3; six were T2 and larger than 7 cm. Fifteen patients (60%) had severe dysphagia that required placement of nasogastric tubes in 14 and gastrostomy in 1. All patients were evaluable for respons. Thirteen patients (52%) had a partial response to CT. After combined treatment, four patients had complete responses (16%), and nine had partial responses (36%; overall response rate, 52%). The median survival was 8 months; 20% were alive at 1 year, and 8% lived more than 4 years. The median survival for responders to CT was 8 months compared with 5 months for nonresponders (P = 0.005). Combined treatment improved dysphagia in 16 patients (64%) with complete resolution in 13. Toxicity was mild. Conclusions. The use of sequential CT (cisplatin and bleomycin) and RT in this group of patients is feasible; there is little additional toxicity, and good palliative effects can be achieved. The patient's response to CT is a good prognostic factor. The development of more effective combinations that induce more durable responses and higher rates of complete response are required.

Dose–response relationship in locoregional control for patients with stage II-III esophageal cancer treated with concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy

“…The results of that trial demonstrated a very low local failure rate of 25%, a 5-year actuarial survival rate of 30%, and a 5-year actuarial local relapse-free survival rate of 70% for patients with Stage I disease. However, in a study of 30 patients with clinical Stage I-III disease, John et al (15) reported (16). RTOG trial 85-01 (1) established that a radiation dose of 50 Gy is appropriate for patients with esophageal cancer treated with simultaneous cisplatin-based chemotherapy.…”

Primäre Radiochemotherapie inoperabler fortgeschrittener Ösophaguskarzinome

“…Fünf Studien [20,34,38,44,47] berichten über > 10% WHO Grad-3/4-Toxizitäten und drei [34,38,49] über therapiebedingte Todesfälle. Dies zeigt ein Überblick über elf Studien von 1990 bis 2000 mit Kollektiven zwischen 22 und 65 Patienten, die mindestens 75% fortgeschrittene Ösophaguskarzino-me enthalten hatten [5,9,20,25,34,38,43,45,48,49,53]. Unsere eigenen Ergebnisse können hier zwanglos eingeordnet werden.…”