Results of irradiation treatment in patients with non-resectable oesophageal cancer

Forty-eight patients with non-resectable cancer of the oesophagus and oesophagogastric junction (Group A: Stage I/II, 32; Group B; Stage III/IV, 16) underwent intraluminal Iridium-192 high dose-rate afterloading therapy (5–7 Gy/session, total dose: 5–21 Gy, mean: 12.4 Gy) and external beam irradiation (Karnofsky greater-or-equal, slanted 80% 50–60 Gy/2 Gy per day; Karnofsky 60–79%; 30 Gy/3 Gy per day). Durable satisfactory palliation (intake of at least semi-solid food) was demonstrated in 96% of patients. The mean survival for group A was 19.1 months and that for group B, 6.9 months, with a 12-month survival rate of 66% (group A) and 0% (group B) (P < 0.001). Local tumour response and complication rate were significantly dose-related with a predicted response rate of 70.5%, and a complication rate of 50% at ERD 129.3 Gy.