Concurrent preoperative chemotherapy and radiation therapy in localized esophageal adenocarcinoma

Twenty‐four patients with localized, potentially resectable adenocarcinoma of the esophagus were enrolled in this study to evaluate the use of preoperative chemotherapy and radiation therapy, followed by transhiatal esophagectomy. The patients were newly diagnosed and had received no prior treatment. Radiation therapy consisted of 4900 cGy, administered as 350‐cGy fractions 5 days a week for 14 fractions. The chemotherapy consisted of 5‐fluorouracil 300 mg/m²/day administered as a continuous 24‐hour intravenous infusion for 96 hours each week, concomitantly with the radiation therapy. After a 3‐week rest, patients underwent transhiatal esophagectomy. Twenty‐two patients could be observed for their responses to the chemotherapy and radiation regimen. Radiographically, 41% showed improvement, 36% had stable disease, and 23% had progression. Nineteen patients underwent surgery; all patients had total gross removal of disease, and two patients had a complete histologic response. All 24 patients could be examined for toxicity assessment. There were three deaths during the treatment period: one patient died of a perioperative complication, one of pneumonia, and one of a myocardial infarction. Eleven patients eventually had pleural and/or pericardial effusions, and six of these were symptomatic. All 24 patients could be examined for survival analysis. The median follow‐up for all patients was 12.5 months, with 32.5 months for all surviving patients. Median survival was reached at 11 months. Disease‐free survival was 9.5 months. It was concluded that the radiation‐fractionation schedule in this preoperative regimen was associated with marked toxicity in the form of pleural and pericardial effusions. There was no improvement in survival compared with historic controls. The role of combined preoperative treatment in this patient population has yet to be determined.