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. 2021 Dec;10(23):8300-8309.
doi: 10.1002/cam4.4025. Epub 2021 Oct 27.

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  1   2   3 , Pin-Chun Chiang  1   3 , Tsung-Min Hung  3   4 , Yin-Kai Chao  3   5 , Yung-Chia Kuo  1   2   3 , Chih-Tsung Wen  3   5   6 , Po-Jung Su  2   3 , Meng-Ting Peng  2   3 , Huan-Wu Chen  3   7   8 , Hui-Ling Liu  9 , Hsien-Kun Chang  1   2   3 , Min-Hsien Wu  1   2   3 , Hung-Ming Wang  1   2   3
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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 et al. Cancer Med. 2021 Dec.

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.

Keywords: 5-fluorouracil; carboplatin; cisplatin; definitive chemoradiotherapy; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; paclitaxel.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
CONSORT flow diagram of patient enrollment
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Kaplan–Meier survival curves of the two groups. The patients who received chemoradiotherapy using paclitaxel plus carboplatin (PC group) achieved significantly longer progression‐free survival (PFS, p = 0.002) (A) and overall survival (OS, p = 0.019) (B) than those who received cisplatin plus 5‐fluorouracil (PF group). Surgery after concurrent chemoradiotherapy was associated with a significantly better PFS (p < 0.001) (C) and OS (p < 0.001) (D). A cumulative radiation dose of 41.4 Gy was not related to PFS (p = 0.349) (E), but associated with significantly better OS (p = 0.018) (F)
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