Radiation Therapy and Chemotherapy Before and After Surgery in Treating Patients With Esophageal Cancer

Gastric Cancer Clinical Trial

Official title: Randomized Phase II Study of Preoperative Combined Modality Paclitaxel / Cisplatin / RT or Irinotecan / Cisplatin / RT Followed by Postoperative Chemotherapy With the Same Agents in Operable Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy before and after surgery may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to compare the effectiveness of combining radiation therapy with two different chemotherapy regimens before and after surgery in treating patients who have esophageal cancer.

Clinical Trial Description

OBJECTIVES: - Compare the pathologic complete response rate in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction treated with radiotherapy with pre- and post-operative cisplatin plus paclitaxel versus cisplatin plus irinotecan. - Compare the survival outcome in patients treated with these regimens. - Compare the toxicity of these regimens in these patients. - Compare the tolerability of these adjuvant chemotherapy regimens after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in these patients. - Compare time to progression or recurrence in patients treated with these regimens. OUTLINE: This is a randomized, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to ECOG performance status (0 vs. 1) and stage of disease (T2-3, N0, M0 vs. T1-3, N0-1, M0 or M1A). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. - Arm A: Patients receive neoadjuvant radiotherapy once daily, 5 days a week, for 5 weeks beginning on day 1 concurrently with neoadjuvant chemotherapy comprising cisplatin IV (Intravenous) over 2-3 hours followed by irinotecan IV over 30-60 minutes once daily on days 1, 8, 22, and 29. Four to six weeks after completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, patients undergo surgical resection. A minimum of 4 weeks after resection, patients receive adjuvant chemotherapy comprising cisplatin and irinotecan as above on days 1 and 8. Treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy repeats every 3 weeks for 3 courses. - Arm B: Patients receive neoadjuvant radiotherapy as in arm A concurrently with neoadjuvant chemotherapy comprising paclitaxel IV (Intravenous) over 1 hour followed by cisplatin IV over 2-3 hours once daily on days 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29. Patients then undergo surgical resection as in arm A. A minimum of 4 weeks after resection, patients receive adjuvant chemotherapy comprising paclitaxel IV over 3 hours followed by cisplatin as above on day 1. Treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy repeats every 3 weeks for 3 courses. In both arms, treatment continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed at 1 month, every 3 months for 2 years, every 6 months for 3 years, and then annually for 5 years. ACCRUAL: A total of 97 patients (50 on Arm A and 47 on Arm B) were accrued for this study. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Esophageal Cancer
• Esophageal Neoplasms
• Gastric Cancer
• Stomach Neoplasms

• NCT number: NCT00033657
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: August 15, 2002
• Completion date: October 2009