title: Multimodality therapy for esophageal cancer.
abstract: Over the past decade and a half, several strategies have been developed to improve the survival of patients with esophageal cancer. Two strategies employ either neoadjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery to improve local-regional control and decrease the incidence of distant metastases. A third strategy uses nonsurgical therapy as definitive treatment for patients without metastatic disease. Single-institution pilot trials and randomized comparative trials have been conducted evaluating each approach. The rationale for these trials, results, and current recommendations are presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Forastiere
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Heitmiller
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kleinberg
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant