Efficacy and toxicities of concurrent chemoradiation for elderly patients with esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of concurrent chemoradiation in patients with esophageal cancer aged 75 and older. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-two elderly patients were treated with concurrent chemoradiation. Seventeen received a combination of cisplatin/carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil, 5 received daily 5-fluorouracil. Total doses of radiotherapy ranged from 50 to 65 Gy. RESULTS Nineteen out of 22 patients completed the planned chemoradiation. Five in 8 patients (63%) with T1-2 lesion and 1 in 14 patients (7o%) with T3-4 lesion achieved complete response (p=0.011). Only 2 patients experienced grade 3 toxicities. Grade 2 or worse hematological toxicities were less frequently observed in patients who received local-field radiotherapy (p=0.006). There was no isolated lymph node recurrence. The median survival time was 9 months. CONCLUSION This study showed the potential for chemoradiation in elderly patients. A planning target volume of radiotherapy should include only clinically involved lesions in this setting.