Table 2.
Phase III studies using neo-adjuvant chemoradiation therapy.
| Study | N | Study Population1 | Treatment | Result2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTOG-8501 (Herskovic et al., 1992; Cooper et al., 1999) | 196 | 80% SSC, 20% Adeno | Cis + 5-FU x4Cy + RT (50 Gy) vs. RT (64 Gy) only | 12.5 vs. 8.9 m; P < 0.001 5 years survival 26 vs. 0% |
| Walsh et al. (1996) | 113 | Adeno | Cis + 5-FU x2Cy + RT (40 Gy) + surgery vs. surgery only | 3 year survival 32 vs. 6%; P = 0.001 |
| CALGB 9781 (Tepper et al., 2008) | 56 | Esophagus/EGJ/cardia 75% adeno, 25% SCC | Cis + 5-FU x2Cy + RT (50.4 Gy) + surgery vs. surgery only | 5 years survival 39 vs. 16%; P = 0.002 |
| Bosset et al. (1997) | 282 | SCC | Cis x2Cy + RT (37 Gy) + surgery vs. surgery only | 18.6 m in both arms |
| Burmeister et al. (2005) | 256 | 63% Adeno, 37% SCC | Cis + 5-FU x1Cy + RT (35 Gy) + surgery vs. surgery only | 22.2 vs. 19.3 m; P = 0.57 |
| Stahl et al. (2005) | 172 | SCC | Induction chemo + chemoRT + surgery vs. induction chemo + chemoRT3 | 16.4 vs. 14.9 m; P < 0.05 |
| FFCD 9102(Bedenne et al., 2007) | 444 | 89% SCC, 11% Adeno | Cis + 5-FU x2Cy + RT (46 Gy). Responders randomized to surgery or more chemoRT | 17.7 vs. 19.3 m; P = 0.44 |
| CROSS (Gaast et al., 2010) | 363 | Esophagus/EGJ 75% Adeno, 25% SCC | Paclitaxel/carboplatin x5Cy + RT (41.4 Gy) + surgery vs. surgery only | 49 vs. 26 m; P = 0.011 |
N, number of patients; Adeno, adenocarcinoma; SCC, squamous cell carcinoma; Cis, cisplatin; 5-FU, 5-flurouracil; Cy, cycle; m, month; yr, year; EGJ, esophageal gastric junction; OS, overall survival; RT, radiation therapy. 1Esophageal cancer unless stated. 2Median overall survival unless stated. 3Induction chemotherapy comprised: fluorouracil 500 mg/m2, leucovorin 300 mg/m2, etoposide 100 mg/m2, and cisplatin 30 mg/m2 on days 1–3 every 3 weeks; chemoRT comprised cisplatin 50 mg/m2 on days 2 and 8 and etoposide 80 mg/m2 on days 3–5 concomitant with radiotherapy.