[Radiation therapy of esophageal carcinoma: a report on 180 cases]

One hundred eighty patients with pathologically proved esophageal carcinoma accepted for surgery, for various resons, were given radical radiation therapy. The length of the lesions ranged from 2 to 9 cm. They were treated either by the isocenter technique alone or A-P plus isocenter irradiation to a total dose of 50-70 Gy/5-7 wk. The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate was 64.4%, 34.4% and 23.3%, respectively. The 3- and 5-year survival rates showed that lesions in the upper third responded to radiotherapy better than did those in the middle and lower thirds (P < 0.05). The 5-year survival of patients with upper third lesions treated with radiation alone (44.5%) was slightly better than that of surgery. The result of lesions in the middle third was slightly inferior, and that of lower third was even more inferior to that of surgery. The result of radiation alone for operable esophageal carcinoma was comparable to that of surgery.