Simultaneous Integrated Boost Radiotherapy and Concurrent Nimotuzumab or Chemotherapy for Esophageal Carcinoma

Esophageal Neoplasms

Locally advanced esophageal cancer, Radiotherapy and nimotuzumab, Concurrent chemoradiotherapy

This prospective, non-randomized phase II study aims to compare radiotherapy and concurrent nimotuzumab with concurrent chemoradiotherapy to obtain a non-inferior pCR rate and pathological lymph node metastases rate in premise of lower toxicities in locally advanced esophageal cancer.

In the era of IMRT and concurrent chemoradiotherapy, the 5-year overall survival of esophageal cancer increase from 10% to about 20%-40%, recurrence rate decrease from 80% to 50%-60%, and local recurrence remains to be the most important type of failure. What called for is to enhance local control without increasing toxicity to improve survival. The investigators have found effective and safe regimen of simultaneously integrated boost radiotherapy in previous study, which can achieve high dose in tumor area with avoid of normal tissues. However, a recent prospective study reported that neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy resulted in much higher toxicities compares to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (46% vs. 15%, p= 0.04). Although chemoradiotherapy reached a higher pCR rate (28% vs. 9%, p=0.002), patients did not differ in survival in two groups. Nimotuzumab is an humanized monoclonal antibody against EGFR. Radiotherapy combines Nimotuzumab reveals synergistic effect in head and neck cancers with lower toxicities as compared to concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Our previous study showed that EGFR expression rate were similar in esophageal cancer and head and neck cancers. Based on above results, the investigators design this study which aims to obtain a non-inferior pCR rate and pathological lymph node metastases rate in premise of lower toxicities.

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