Cancer Medicine (Dec 2021)

Definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy with paclitaxel plus carboplatin is superior to cisplatin plus 5‐fluorouracil in patients with inoperable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma using retrospective, real‐world evidence

  • Jason Chia‐Hsun Hsieh,
  • Pin‐Chun Chiang,
  • Tsung‐Min Hung,
  • Yin‐Kai Chao,
  • Yung‐Chia Kuo,
  • Chih‐Tsung Wen,
  • Po‐Jung Su,
  • Meng‐Ting Peng,
  • Huan‐Wu Chen,
  • Hui‐Ling Liu,
  • Hsien‐Kun Chang,
  • Min‐Hsien Wu,
  • Hung‐Ming Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.4025
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 23
pp. 8300 – 8309

Abstract

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Abstract Background The optimal definitive chemotherapy regimen during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear because of conflicting evidence. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of taxane‐based chemotherapy with that of conventional cisplatin plus 5‐fluorouracil (PF) as the chemotherapy regimen in definitive CRT for ESCC. Patients and Methods This retrospective study included patients with ESCC who received paclitaxel plus carboplatin (PC) or PF during definitive CRT between May 2012 and February 2015 in a medical center in Taiwan. Survival outcomes were compared after adjustment for risk factors. Results Overall, 229 patients were evaluated. Patients in the PC group had an objective response rate of 71.1% compared with the 51.4% of the PF group (p = 0.016). The PC group showed a significantly longer progression‐free survival (PFS, p = 0.002) and overall survival (OS, p = 0.019) than the PF group. Salvage surgery also helped prolong both the PFS and OS (p < 0001). Sex (male vs. female, HR, 1.831; 95% CI, 1.016–3.303), clinical stage (HR, 1.282; 95% CI, 1.069–1.537), accumulative radiation dose (≥41.4 Gy vs. <41.4 Gy; HR, 0.640; 95% CI, 0.413–0.993), salvage surgery (yes vs. no, HR: 0.412, 95% CI: 0.298–0.570), and regimen (PF vs. PC; HR, 1.514; 95% CI, 1.109–2.067) were independent prognostic factors for cancer mortality. Conclusion Compared with the PF regimen, the PC regimen for definitive CRT yielded significantly increased response rates and longer survival times; therefore, the PC regimen may be preferable for chemotherapy for definitive CRT in patients with advanced ESCC.

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