Impact of radiation schedule and chemotherapy duration in definitive chemoradiotherapy regimen for esophageal cancer.

Unlabelled: Impact of radiotherapy (RT) schedule on local response and duration of the 5-fluorouracil/cisplatin (5 FU/CDDP) chemotherapy (CT) on m are still questioning in chemoradiotherapy (CRT) regimen in esophageal carcinoma.

Aim: Evaluate two RT schedules and two different CT durations by a retrospective comparison of the CRT regimens used by two centres between 1994 and 2000.

Methods: In centre I (regimen I), patients received 2 CT concomitantly to a continuous RT (50 Gy/25 fractions/5 weeks). In centre II (regimen II), patients received 6 CT, 3 were concomitant to a split course RT (20 Gy/10 fractions x 3 courses) and 3 CT were delivered after CRT.

Results: A total of 129 patients were included, 74 in centre I and 55 in centre II respectively. Main patient characteristics were similar between the two groups. Clinical complete response to CRT was significantly more frequent in regimen I (83.8% vs 65.4%; P=0.02). The median overall survival (OS) was 20 months in regimen I and 22 months in regimen II (NS). During follow-up, responder patients to CRT in regimen II experienced significant fewer metastasis (51.6% vs 27.8%; P=0.03) with a trend to an increased 5-year survival (19.4% vs 11.3%) and OS (26.5 vs 21.0 months) (NS). Grade 3-4 toxicities were not different.

Conclusion: Clinical complete response to CRT was significantly more frequent with a continuous RT whereas additional CT after CRT significantly reduced metastasis occurrence. CRT regimen in esophageal carcinoma may be more effective using a continuous RT schedule and additional CT courses after CRT completion.