A 3-Year Survival Update from a Phase 2 Study of Paclitaxel Plus Cisplatin and 5-Fuorouracil Induction Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Borderline-Resectable Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: The NEOCRTEC-1601 Clinical Trial

Abstract Background This study updated 3-year analyses to further characterize the impact of docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil (TPF) chemotherapy followed by surgery. Methods This study was a single-center phase 2 clinical trial. Patients with a diagnosis of borderline resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (BR-ESCC) because of the primary tumor or bulky lymph node that potentially invaded adjacent organs were eligible. The treatment started with TPF chemotherapy followed by surgery if the cancer was resectable, or by concurrent chemoradiation if it was unresectable. This updated report presents the 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates. Results Surgery was performed for 27 patients (57.4%), and R0 resection was confirmed in 25 patients (53.2%). Pathologic complete response was confirmed in four patients (8.5%). The median follow-up time for the surviving patients was 44.8 months (range, 3.4–74.6 months). The median OS for all the patients was 41.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 18.6–65.3 months), with a median PFS of 38.7 months (95% CI, 23.5–53.9 months). The 3-year survival rate for all the patients was 54.4%. The 3-year survival rate for the R0 patients was 65.4%. Conclusion Long-term follow-up evaluation confirmed that TPF followed by surgery is feasible and promising in terms of survival for BR-ESCC patients. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifer: NCT02976909.