Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (19)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by de Pree, C.
Right arrow Articles by Alberto, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by de Pree, C.
Right arrow Articles by Alberto, P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Oncology 6:551-558, 1995
© 1995 European Society for Medical Oncology

research-article

Screening for cancer, 1995: An update

C. de Pree1,, M. S. Aapro1, A. Spiliopoulos2, Y. Popowski3, B. Mermillod4, R. O. Mirimanoff3,5 and P. Alberto1

1Division of Onco-Hematology, Department of Medicine, Geneva University Hospital Geneva
2Clinic of Thoracic Surgery, Geneva University Hospital Geneva
3Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, Geneva University Hospital Geneva
4Centre d'Informatique Hospitaliere, Geneva University Hospital Geneva
5Department of Radiation Oncology CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland

Correspondence to: Dr. C. de Pree, Division of Onco-Hematology, University Hospital 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of a neo-adjuvant combined chemo-radiotherapy in patients with localized squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-two patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, stages II and HI (or stage I if considered to be poor candidates for immediate curative surgery), age less than 70 years and WHO performance status 0 to 2, were enrolled in a study of radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy, consisting of 2 (operated patients) or 3 (non-operated patients) courses of cisplatin, vindesine, mitomy-cin-C or cisplatin, vinblastine. Surgery was routinely proposed to patients.

RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients (88%) received full pre-operative therapy. Of 30 patients responding to this pre-operative therapy, 12 had a third cycle of treatment and 15 had esophagectomy. Three of the operated patients had no pathological evidence of residual tumour. Median survival of all 42 patients is 11 months and the 2-year survival rate is 29%. There is no difference in survival among responding operated or non-operated patients. Our group represents 95% of all eligible cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus occurring in Geneva during the study period.

CONCLUSION: Our series gives a realistic view of the median survival of a population of patients eligible for neo-adjuvant therapy of esophageal cancer, and suggests that secondary surgery might not improve the patient survival. Furthermore, non-selected patients are at high risk for therapy-related death.

chemotherapy, esophagus, radiotherapy, squamous cell carcinoma, surgery


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.