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Esophageal squamous cancer is typically treated with chemoradiotherapy given as definitive treatment or prior to surgery. In Japan (where a common alternative is chemotherapy followed by surgery), investigators compared three neoadjuvant treatments in 601 patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cancer in an open-label, randomized, multicenter trial.
The three protocols were:
5-day infusion of 5-FU with 1 day of cisplatin for two 3-week cycles
That regimen plus 1 day of docetaxel, for three 3-week cycles
4-day infusion of 5-FU and 1 day of cisplatin for two 4-week cycles plus concurrent radiotherapy (total dose, 41.4 Gy)
The primary tumor was in the middle thoracic esophagus in 59% of patients; 68% had stage T3 disease; 91% had clinica…