High Complete Response (Cr) Rate In Patients (Pts) W H Esophageal Carcinoma (Ec) Undergoing Neoadjuvant Combination Of Docetaxel And Cisplatin (Dc) Cetuximab(Dce) Chemoradiation Therapy A Retrospective Analysis

15093 Background: EC is a highly lethal disease with 5 year survival less than 15%. Surgery offers a chance for cure in early disease. Still, fewer than 20% of pts treated with surgery alone are alive at 5 years. Neoadjuvant chemoradiation offers the theoretical advantage of increasing R0 resections and reducing early local and distal metastases which may translate into improved survival. Several clinical trials have resulted in pathologic complete response (pCR) rates of 20–30%. Methods: Newly diagnosed pts with EC Stage 2A (T3) to 4 received weekly Docetaxel (D)25–30mg/m2 and Cisplatin (C)25–30mg/m2.for 6–8 weeks concurrently with radiation, 5040 cGy in 28 fractions. Cetuximab (E) 200mg/m2 was added after it became accepted treatment in head and neck cancers. Pts were scheduled 4 - 6 weeks later for surgery followed by the same chemotherapy for total of 16 weeks of treatment. Pts were assessed for time to progression, overall survival and toxicities. Results: Fifteen pts treated in 2005–6 underwent IRB approved evaluation; 11 male and 4 female, median age of 62(range 44–78) . Four had squamous cell (SCC) and 11 adenocarcinomas. Nine pts had Stage II, 4 pts stage III and 2 pts stage IV disease. Seven pts underwent surgery, all R0 resections. Four of them had pCR, one pPR (downstaged from T3 to T1) and two pts had stable disease. An additional 3 pts had radiological and endoscopic proven CR (medically not surgical candidates) for an objective response (CR+PR) in 8 out of 15 pts (3 SCC and 5 adenoca). Five out of 9 receiving DC had an objective response while 3 of 6 receiving DCE responded. Five pts progressed prior to surgery. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 2, nausea in 3, and 1 pt experienced Grade 3 dehydration. Four patients required dose reductions by 20%. Six patients had one cycle and 2 had 3 cycles delayed by one week each. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant chemoradiation treatment with weekly Docetaxel and Cisplatin ± Cetuximab is tolerable with high rate of CRs. There was no observed difference in response with the addition of cetuximab. A Phase III study is suggested. No significant financial relationships to disclose.