Long-term outcomes of trimodality treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus with cisplatin and/or 5-FU: more than 20 years' experience at a single institution.

purposeThe purpose of this article is to report the outcome of neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy (N-RCT) + surgery in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus at a single institution.

methodsWe retrospectively reviewed data from patients who were referred to our department for N-RCT. From 1988–2011, 103 patients were treated with N-RCT with cisplatin and/or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Group 1: (n = 55) from 1988–2006 with 39.6–40 Gy and 5-FU with (n = 17) or without cisplatin (n = 38). Group 2: from 2003–2010 with 44–45 Gy and 5-FU with (n = 40) or without cisplatin (n = 8). All patients underwent radical resection with reconstruction according to tumor location and 2-field lymph node dissection. The degree of histomorphologic regression was defined as grade 1a (pCR, 0 % residual tumor), grade 1b (pSTR, < 10 % residual tumor), grade 2 (10–50 % residual tumor), and grade 3 (> 50 % residual tumor).

resultsMedian follow-up time from the start of N-RCT was 100 months (range 2–213 months). The median overall survival (OS) for the whole cohort was 42 months and the 5-year OS was 45 ± 5 %. In the multivariate analysis, worse ECOG performance status (p < 0.001), weight loss > 10 % before the start of the N-RCT (p = 0.025), higher pT category (p = 0.001), and grade 2/3 pathologic remission (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with a poor OS. PCR and pSTR rates for group 1 were 36 % and 18 % compared to 53 % and 22 % for group 2 (p = 0.011). There was a tendency for a better outcome in group 2 patients without statistical significance. The 5-year OS, disease-free survival and recurrent-free survival were 36 ± 7 %, 35 ± 6, and 36 ± 7 % for group 1 and 55 ± 7, 49 ± 7, and 53 ± 7 in group 2 (p = 0.117, p = 0.124, and p = 0.087). There was no significant difference between the two groups considering the postoperative morbidity and mortality.

conclusionHigher radiation doses and more use of simultaneous cisplatin lead to higher pathologic response rates to N-RCT and may be associated with better survival outcomes. Prospective controlled trials are needed to assess the true value of intensified N-RCT regimens.