title: Perioperative and Palliative Chemotherapy for Esophageal Cancer.
abstract: Perioperative and palliative chemotherapy for esophageal carcinoma has undergone substantial changes in recent years. The implementation of trastuzumab in the treatment of HER2-positive advanced adenocarcinoma is a milestone as it marked the introduction of the first molecularly targeted treatment of gastric cancer. Current studies are investigating whether anti-HER2-directed treatment also proves effective in the perioperative setting. Data from the CROSS study on neoadjuvant radio-/chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin have helped to establish a new standard of care for the treatment of localized esophageal cancer. Finally, preliminary experience in potentially curative treatment approaches for oligometastatic tumor stages may offer new treatment options for patients with stage IV gastric cancer. However, some of these innovative approaches urgently require validation in larger, prospective, and controlled multicenter studies. Highly active forms of radiotherapy, radio-/chemotherapy, or chemoimmunotherapy can achieve complete tumor remissions in some patients. Despite these advances, life expectancy unfortunately continues to be very limited in the majority of patients with locally advanced or metastatic esophageal carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine, Vivantes Klinikum im Friedrichshain, University Teaching Hospital of the Humboldt University Berlin (Charité), Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Behrens
authors.affiliation: Department for Gastroenterology, Sana Klinikum Offenbach, Offenbach, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ell
authors.affiliation: University Cancer Center Leipzig (UCCL), Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lordick
keywords: Esophageal cancer; Neoadjuvant radio-/chemotherapy; Palliative chemotherapy; Perioperative chemotherapy