Cisplatin, vindesine, pepleomycin and combined radiation therapy for inoperable esophageal carcinoma.

Sixteen inoperable esophageal cancer patients, including six over 80 years of age, were given combined chemoradiation therapy. The treatment consisted of radiation therapy (50-60 Gy for 6-7 wk on days 1 to 46) combined with cisplatin (50 mg/m2 i.v. on days 22 and 50), vindesine (3 mg/m2 i.v. on days 22 and 50) and pepleomycin (5 mg i.m. on days 23 to 27 and 51 to 55). The treatment was well-tolerated. The overall response rate was 56%, with three complete responses and six partial responses. For 10 patients with loco-regional disease (stage II-III), the response rate was 70%. The overall median survival was 7 mo and the survival rate was 31% at one year and 23% at two years. For loco-regional disease, the one and two-year survival rates were 40 and 27%, respectively, with a median survival of 8 mo. The protocol is worthy of being considered for treating inoperable, poor-risk esophageal cancer patients.