Charting the future of esophageal cancer translation: insights from clinical trial landscape

Cancer research · Esophageal cancer

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with S‑1 improves overall survival in older patients with esophageal cancer compared to radiotherapy alone without increasing non‑cancer mortality.

This secondary analysis of a phase 3 randomized controlled trial evaluated long‑term outcomes of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with the oral fluoropyrimidine S‑1 versus radiotherapy (RT) alone in 298 older patients (aged 70–85 years) with esophageal cancer. Over a median follow‑up of 87 months, the CCRT group demonstrated superior overall survival (median OS 24.7 months vs 15.1 months in the RT group; hazard ratio 0.69, 95 % CI 0.53–0.90) and no excess non‑cancer mortality. These findings support CCRT with S‑1 as an effective and tolerable treatment option for the elderly esophageal cancer population.

Older patients with esophageal cancer often cannot tolerate standard platinum‑based concurrent chemoradiotherapy due to comorbidities and limited organ reserve. S‑1 based CCRT offers high efficacy and lower toxicity, but long‑term data have been limited. This study provides evidence of sustained survival benefit, informing clinical decisions for this underrepresented population.

Evidence level: Klinikai vizsgálat. Formális klinikai vizsgálati eredmény.

Original source

Related signals