TABLE 1.
Trial characteristics
| Trials | Year | Designs | N | Histology | Location | Preoperative stage | RT schedule | CT schedule | CT cycles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gignoux 7 | 1987 | NRT + S vs. S | 208 | SCC | Thoracic esophagus | T1‐3N0‐1M0 | 33 Gy/3.3 Gy/10f | — | — |
| Nygaard 13 | 1992 | NCRT + S vs. NCT + S vs. NRT + S vs. S | 186 | SCC | Thoracic esophagus (below 21 cm) | T1‐2N0‐1M0 | 35 Gy/1.75 Gy/20f | PB | 2 |
| Walsh 18 | 1996 | NCRT + S vs. S | 113 | AC | Esophagus (excluding cervical esophagus) | NA | 40 Gy/2.67 Gy/15f | PF | 2 |
| Bosset 19 | 1997 | NCRT + S vs. S | 282 | SCC | Thoracic esophagus | I‐II | 37 Gy/3.7 Gy/10f | P | 2 |
| Law 8 | 1997 | NCT + S vs. S | 147 | SCC | Thoracic esophagus | NA | — | PF | 2 |
| Ancona 20 | 2001 | NCT + S vs. S | 94 | SCC | Esophagus | IIA‐III | — | PF | 2 |
| Urba 21 | 2001 | NCRT + S vs. S | 100 | AC, SCC | Esophagus | NA | 45 Gy/1.5 Gy/30f | PFV | 2 |
| Lee 22 | 2004 | NCRT + S vs. S | 101 | SCC | Thoracic esophagus | IIA‐III | 45.6 Gy/1.2 Gy/38f | PF | 2 |
| Burmeister 5 | 2005 | NCRT + S vs. S | 256 | AC, SCC | Thoracic esophagus | T1‐3N0‐1M0 | 35 Gy/2.3 Gy/15f | PF | 1 |
| Kelsen 23 | 2007 | NCT + S vs. S | 243 | AC, SCC | Esophagus or GEJ | I‐III | — | PF | 3 |
| Tepper 24 | 2008 | NCRT + S vs. S | 56 | AC, SCC | Thoracic esophagus (below 20 cm) or GEJ | T1‐3N0‐1M0 | 50.4 Gy/1.8 Gy/28f | PF | 2 |
| Allum 25 | 2009 | NCT + S vs. S | 802 | AC, SCC, UC | Esophagus or GEJ | NA | — | PF | 2 |
| Lv 26 | 2010 | NCRT + S vs. S | 238 | SCC | Thoracic esophagus | IIA‐III | 40 Gy/2 Gy/20f | TP | 2 |
| Bonstra 9 | 2011 | NCT + S vs. S | 169 | SCC | Thoracic esophagus | I‐III or M1a | — | EP | 2–4 |
| Burmeister 10 | 2011 | NCT + S vs. NCRT + S | 75 | AC | Esophagus or GEJ | IIA‐III | 35 Gy/2.3 Gy/15f | PF | 2 |
| Marittte 4 | 2014 | NCRT + S vs. S | 195 | AC, SCC | Thoracic esophagus | I‐II | 45 Gy/1.8 Gy/25f | PF | 2 |
| Shapiro 3 | 2015 | NCRT + S vs. S | 368 | AC, SCC, UC | Esophagus or GEJ | T1N1M0 or T2–3N0–1M0 | 41.4 Gy/1.8 Gy/23f | TP | 5 a |
| Stahl 11 | 2017 | NCRT + S vs. NCT + S | 119 | AC | GEJ | T3‐4NxM0 | 30 Gy/2 Gy/15f | PFFo/EP | 5 a |
| Yang 6 | 2018 | NCRT + S vs. S | 451 | SCC | Thoracic esophagus | T1‐4N1M0 or T4N0M0 | 40 Gy/2 Gy/20f | NP | 2 |
| VonDobeln 12 | 2019 | NCRT + S vs. NCT + S | 181 | AC, SCC | Esophagus or GEJ | T1N1, T2‐3N0‐1 or M0‐M1a | 40 Gy/2 Gy/20f | PF | 3 |
Abbreviations: AC, adenocarcinoma; CT, chemotherapy; EP, cisplatin and etoposide; f, fractions; GEJ, gastroesophageal junction; NA, not available; NP, cisplatin and vinorelbine; P, single drug cisplatin; PB, cisplatin and bleomycin; PF, cisplatin and fluorouracil; PFFo, cisplatin, fluorouracil, and folinic acid; PFV, cisplatin, fluorouracil, and vinblastine; RT, radiotherapy; S, surgery; SCC, squamous cell carcinoma; TP, cisplatin and paclitaxel; UC, undifferentiated carcinoma.
a
The chemotherapy was given weekly.