Radiotherapy,Chemotherapy,Before and After Surgery in Advanced Esophageal or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer

Esophageal Cancer Clinical Trial

Official title: A Phase II Trial of Pre- and Postoperative Chemoradiotherapy and ZD1839 (IRESSA) Followed by Maintenance ZD1839 in Patients With Locoregionally Advanced Esophageal and Gastroesophageal Junction Carcinoma

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and fluorouracil, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. Cisplatin and fluorouracil may also make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Gefitinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving radiation therapy together with combination therapy and gefitinib before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Giving these treatments after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery.

PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving radiation therapy together with combination chemotherapy and gefitinib before and after surgery works in treating patients with advanced esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer.

Clinical Trial Description

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• Determine the activity of gefitinib, in terms of median survival and distant metastatic disease control, in patients treated with neoadjuvant and adjuvant cisplatin, fluorouracil, and radiotherapy who are undergoing surgery for esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancer.

Secondary

• Determine the pathologic complete and partial response rate in patients treated with this regimen.

• Determine the toxicity of this regimen in these patients and in patients who are disease free and receiving long-term maintenance gefitinib.

OUTLINE:

• Preoperative regimen: Patients undergo radiotherapy twice a day during days 1-12 (for a total of 10 treatment days). Patients receive fluorouracil IV continuously and cisplatin IV continuously on days 1-4. Patients also receive oral gefitinib once daily on days 1-28. At 6 weeks, patients with locoregionally confined disease undergo surgical resection and then proceed to the postoperative regimen. Patients with a medical contraindication to surgery proceed directly to the postoperative regimen.

• Postoperative regimen: Beginning 4-10 weeks after surgery or 6 weeks after completing the first course of therapy, patients undergo radiotherapy and receive fluorouracil and cisplatin as in the preoperative regimen.

• Maintenance regimen: Patients receive oral gefitinib beginning on day 1 of the postoperative regimen and continuing for 2 years in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for 5 years.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 80 patients will be accrued for this study. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Non-Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Esophageal Cancer
• Esophageal Neoplasms

• NCT number: NCT00258323
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: October 2005
• Completion date: February 2010