Treatment strategy involving docetaxel plus cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil followed by conversion surgery for locally advanced unresectable/borderline resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) is the standard treatment for unresectable (T4) esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but the prognosis is poor. Borderline resectable (T3br) ESCC has been discussed, but its clinical features and appropriate treatment are unclear. The effects of docetaxel plus cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (DCF) therapy and subsequent surgery for potentially unresectable ESCC remain controversial. This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. Patients with T3 or deeper ESCC lesions between January 2017 and June 2020 were examined. We identified T3br/T4 ESCC patients who initially received DCF therapy or dCRT, and analyzed the long-term outcomes of these patients. Seventy-four patients with T3br/T4 ESCC were identified. Forty-four patients initially received DCF therapy, while thirty initially received dCRT. The 3-year overall survival of T3br/T4 patients in the DCF group was better than that in the dCRT group (62.9% vs. 34.1%, P = 0.001). In the T3br cohort, 95.8% of patients underwent surgery after DCF therapy, with an R0 resection rate of 78.3%. In the T4 group, 40% of patients underwent surgery after DCF, with a 75.0% R0 resection rate. No cases of reoperation or in-hospital death occurred. For both subgroups, T3br and T4, the prognosis tended to be better in the DCF group than in the dCRT group. This study explored real-world data from T3br/T4 ESCC patients who initially received DCF and subsequent surgery and revealed that DCF is a promising treatment strategy.