Current strategies in chemoradiation for esophageal cancer

Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has an important role in the treatment of esophageal cancer in both the inoperable and the pre-operative settings. Pre-operative chemoradiation therapy is generally given to 41.4-50.4 Gy with platinum or paclitaxel based chemotherapy. The most common definitive dose in the U.S. is 50-50.4 Gy. New advances in CRT for esophageal cancer have come from looking for ways to minimize toxicity and maximize efficacy. Recent investigations for minimizing toxicity have focused advanced radiation techniques such as IMRT and proton therapy, have sought to further define normal tissue tolerances, and have examined the use of tighter fields with less elective clinical target volume coverage. Efforts to maximize efficacy have included the use of early positron emission tomography (PET) response directed therapy, molecularly targeted therapies, and the use of tumor markers that predict response.