[Chemotherapy for the patients with esophageal cancer]

The combination of cisplatin and continuous-infusion 5-fluorouracil is the standard regimen for the treatment of both squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Paclitaxel has shown favorable results as a single agent or in combination with cisplatin. The efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in terms of survival benefit remains controversial despite large-scale, randomized, controlled trials comparing it with surgery alone. The disease-free survival benefit of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy was recognized in a Japan Clinical Oncology Group randomized controlled trial in comparison with surgery alone.