[Phase II study of radiotherapy plus erlotinib for elder patients with esophageal carcinoma]

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of radiation plus erlotinib in patients with esophageal cancer older than 70 years.

Radiotherapy was prescribed at a daily fraction of 2.0 Gy up to a total dose of 60 Gy over 6 weeks. Concurrent erlotinib was administrated at a dose of 150 mg daily at days 1-42. Acute toxicities were assessed by the criteria of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) and National Cancer Institute (NCI). The results were analyzed by the software SPSS 17.0.

A total of 33 patients were enrolled. The median survival time was 16.3 ± 8.6 months (95%CI 0.0 - 33.3) and the 1-and 2-year overall survival rates were 66.3% and 49.7% respectively. The media progression-free survival was 16.7 ± 7.1 months (95%CI 2.9 - 30.5) and the 1- and 2-year local control rates 73.3% and 54.9% respectively. Most toxicities were of grade 1-2 and manageable.

The combined regimen of radiation and erlotinib is effective and safe in elder patients aged > 70 years with esophageal cancer. However the results of our study should be confirmed in randomized controlled trials of a larger sample size.