title: Is there a benefit in receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy for elderly patients with inoperable thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The benefit of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in elderly patients with inoperable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is controversial. This study aimed to assess the efficiency and safety of CCRT in elderly thoracic esophageal cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between January 2002 and December 2011, 128 patients aged 65 years or older treated with CCRT or radiotherapy (RT) alone for inoperable thoracic esophageal SCC were analyzed retrospectively (RT alone, n = 55; CCRT, n = 73).
  
  
  RESULTS
  No treatment-related deaths occurred and no patients experienced any acute grade 4 non-hematologic toxicities. Patients treated with CCRT developed more severe acute toxicities than patients who received RT alone. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was 36.1% for CCRT compared with 28.5% following RT alone (p = 0.008). Multivariate analysis identified T stage and treatment modality as independent prognostic factors for survival. Further analysis revealed that survival was significantly better in the CCRT group than in the RT alone group for patients ≤ 72 years. Nevertheless, the CCRT group had a similar OS to the RT group for patients > 72 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that elderly patients with inoperable thoracic esophageal SCC could benefit from CCRT, without major toxicities. However, for patients older than 72 years, CCRT is not superior to RT alone in terms of survival benefit.
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Imaging Diagnosis and Interventional Center, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing-Xian
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qiao-Qiao
authors.initials: QQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li-Ru
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shi-Liang
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Meng-Zhong
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D005472:Fluorouracil