Current Clinical Trials

At diagnosis, approximately 50% of patients with esophageal cancer will have metastatic disease and will be candidates for palliative therapy.[1]

Standard treatment options:

1. Endoscopic-placed stents to provide palliation of dysphagia.[2]
2. Radiation therapy with or without intraluminal intubation and dilation.
3. Intraluminal brachytherapy to provide palliation of dysphagia.[3,4]
4. Nd:YAG endoluminal tumor destruction or electrocoagulation.[5]
5. Chemotherapy has provided partial responses for patients with metastatic distal esophageal adenocarcinomas.[6-8]

Treatment options under clinical evaluation:

Many agents are active in esophageal cancer. Objective response rates of 30% to 60% and median survivals of less than 1 year are commonly reported with platinum-based combination regimens with fluorouracil, taxanes, topoisomerase inhibitors, hydroxyurea, or vinorelbine.[1,8,9]

• Clinical trials evaluating single-agent or combination chemotherapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage IV esophageal cancer. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.

General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI Web site.

References

1. Enzinger PC, Ilson DH, Kelsen DP: Chemotherapy in esophageal cancer. Semin Oncol 26 (5 Suppl 15): 12-20, 1999.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
2. Baron TH: Expandable metal stents for the treatment of cancerous obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract. N Engl J Med 344 (22): 1681-7, 2001.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
3. Sur RK, Levin CV, Donde B, et al.: Prospective randomized trial of HDR brachytherapy as a sole modality in palliation of advanced esophageal carcinoma--an International Atomic Energy Agency study. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 53 (1): 127-33, 2002.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
4. Gaspar LE, Nag S, Herskovic A, et al.: American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) consensus guidelines for brachytherapy of esophageal cancer. Clinical Research Committee, American Brachytherapy Society, Philadelphia, PA. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 38 (1): 127-32, 1997.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
5. Bourke MJ, Hope RL, Chu G, et al.: Laser palliation of inoperable malignant dysphagia: initial and at death. Gastrointest Endosc 43 (1): 29-32, 1996.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
6. Waters JS, Norman A, Cunningham D, et al.: Long-term survival after epirubicin, cisplatin and fluorouracil for gastric cancer: results of a randomized trial. Br J Cancer 80 (1-2): 269-72, 1999.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
7. Ross P, Nicolson M, Cunningham D, et al.: Prospective randomized trial comparing mitomycin, cisplatin, and protracted venous-infusion fluorouracil (PVI 5-FU) With epirubicin, cisplatin, and PVI 5-FU in advanced esophagogastric cancer. J Clin Oncol 20 (8): 1996-2004, 2002.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
8. Taïeb J, Artru P, Baujat B, et al.: Optimisation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/cisplatin combination chemotherapy with a new schedule of hydroxyurea, leucovorin, 5-FU and cisplatin (HLFP regimen) for metastatic oesophageal cancer. Eur J Cancer 38 (5): 661-6, 2002.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
9. Conroy T, Etienne PL, Adenis A, et al.: Vinorelbine and cisplatin in metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus: response, toxicity, quality of life and survival. Ann Oncol 13 (5): 721-9, 2002.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   

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