Peri-operative Chemotherapy in Patients with Oesophageal and Gastrooesophageal Junction Cancer – Three Years of Experience

Peri-operative chemotherapy has been found to benefit patients with oesophageal and gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. This study’s aim was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of this treatment. The study included patients with carcinoma of the lower oesophagus and gastro-oesophageal junction in whom the disease was evaluated as potentially operable. Chemotherapy (CHT) consisted of three preoperative and three postoperative cycles of intravenous epirubicin and cisplatin on day 1 plus a continuous infusion of fluorouracil for 21 days (ECF) or oral capecitabine for 14 days (ECCap). Postoperative radio-chemotherapy (CRT) with fluorouracil or capecitabine after CHT was indicated in patients with two and more positive lymph nodes. Sixty-three patients started the treatment. Median follow-up was 32 months. Preoperative CHT was completed by 62 patients, 52 had surgery, 46 had radical resection, 25 patients had pN0 and 21 patient pN plus findings. Postoperative CHT was started in 39 (62%) patients and completed in 32 (51%). Ten (16%) patients had postoperative CRT. Adverse events of grade 3 and 4 were: neutropenia 17%, vomiting 8%, fatigue 5%, diarrhoea 3%. Reasons for omitting surgery in 11 (17%) patients were: progression in 7 patients, medically unfit in 3 patients, other in 1 patient. In the reporting period there were recurrences in 39 of all patients, in 7 locoregional only, in 10 distant plus locoregional, and in 19 distant metastases. Median survival was 24.1 months and 3-year survival rate was 42%. Peri-operative chemotherapy ECF/ECCap was feasible and well tolerated. Radical resection was performed in most patients.