COMPLETE RESPONSE OF ESOPHAGEAL CANCER ACHIEVED BY COMBINATION THERAPY WITH 5-FLUOROURACIL, LOW-DOSE CISPLATIN, AND RADIATION - REPORT OF ACASE

To improve the survival rate of patients with esophageal cancer, sever al protocols of a preoperative combination of chemotherapy and radioth erapy, known as chemoradiation therapy, have been developed, recently characterized by the combination of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cisplatin, and radiation. Although some of these combinations have been demonstra ted to be effective, the optimal chemoradiation dose and schedule are not yet precisely established. Recent investigations have elucidated t hat the radiosensitizing effects of cisplatin are able to be achieved more effectively by the daily administration of cisplatin before each fraction of radiation. Based on these investigations, we report herein the case of a patient with esophageal cancer with direct invasion to the trachea, in whom a complete response was achieved by the continuou s administration of 5-FU, 600 mg/m(2) per day, from days 1-5 combined, vith the daily administration of low-dose cisplatin, 10 mg/m(2) per da y before each fraction of radiation, given as 2 Gy each time, througho ut the entire treatment period of 3 weeks beginning on day 1. The bene fits of our preoperative chemoradiation therapy included no severe sid e effects, down-staging and resectability of the tumor, as well as a p athological complete response, which could prolong the survival time. Our experience of this case prompts us to recommend the concurrent dai ly preoperative chemoradiation therapy for patients with locally advan ced esophageal cancer.