Randomized clinical trials in esophageal cancer.
The level I evidence leading to current treatment practices in the management of esophageal cancer includes a total of 72 prospective, randomized controlled trials. The impact of these studies are varied. Numerous well-designed surgical trials address important technical issues in resection and reconstruction after esophagectomy; these studies define complication and morbidity rates in addition to overall survival. A large percentage of the prospective, randomized controlled trials address the role of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemoradiation, with overall survival as the endpoint. The majoritv of these trials are designed to improve on the dismal resectability and overall survival rates in esophageal cancer by initiating novel combination strategies. However, further well-designed
Kim
Hong Jin
HJ
Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, USA. kimhj@med.unc.edu
Bains
Manjit S
MS
D002277:Carcinoma / Q000628:therapy*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic