Higher Neoadjuvant Radiation Dose is Associated with Lower Overall Survival in Resected Esophageal Cancer: A...

Following publication of the Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Cancer Followed by Surgery Study (CROSS) trial, neoadjuvant chemoradiation has become standard of care for most esophageal cancer (EC). Patients most commonly receive either 41.4 Gy (per CROSS) or 50-50.4 Gy, but little post-CROSS era data have been reported.

The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried for patients with EC receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by resection from 2012-2020 (n = 10,810). Patients were grouped by neoadjuvant radiation dose (41.4 Gy or 50-50.4 Gy). Overall survival (OS) was evaluated with Cox proportional hazards modeling following propensity-score matching on the basis of relevant clinicopathologic characteristics.

A total of 10,810 patients were identified, with 1450 (13.4%) receiving 41.4 Gy of radiation and 9360 (86.6%) receiving 50-50.4 Gy. At a median follow-up of 61.6 months, median OS was 59.9 months in patients receiving 41.4 Gy and 45.5 months (P < 0.001) for patients receiving 50-50.4 Gy. Following stratification by posttreatment stage, 41.4 Gy dosing remained associated with improved OS compared with 50-50.4 Gy, but was most pronounced for patients with pCR (median OS 110.0 versus 82.4 months, P < 0.001) and Tis/Stage I residual disease (median OS 92.8 versus 67.2 months, P = 0.02). Propensity matching yielded 1448 patients per group. On multivariable analysis, receipt of 41.4 Gy was independently associated with improved OS (HR 0.82, P < 0.001).

Lower neoadjuvant radiation dosage is associated with improved OS in resected EC. Until prospective trials are completed, higher radiation doses should be reserved for definitive treatment in patients ineligible for surgery, due to potential harms.