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Clinical practice and outcome of radiotherapy for esophageal cancer between 1999 and 2003: the Japanese Radiation Oncology Study Group (JROSG) Survey

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Abstract

Background

To determine the clinical results of radiotherapy (RT) for esophageal cancer in Japan.

Materials and methods

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted for esophageal cancer treated by definitive RT between 1999 and 2003. Clinical results of definitive RT for patients were collected from 9 major institutions. Only patients with good performance status (PS 0–2) who received a total dose of 50 Gy or more were included. Patients were classified into three groups: (A) stage I, (B) resectable stages II–III, (C) unresectable stages III–IVA. For group A, all patients treated by RT alone or chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) were included. For groups B and C, only those treated by CRT were included.

Results

In total, 167 patients were included in group A, 239 in group B, and 244 in group C. Approximately half of the patients in group A were treated by CRT. The median total RT dose ranged from 60 to 66 Gy. The median and range of the 5-year overall survival rates were 56% (48–83%) for group A, 29% (12–52%) for group B, and 19% (0–31%) for group C, respectively. A wide disparity in overall survival rates was noted among the institutions. A significant correlation between the number of patients treated per year and the 5-year overall survival rate was noted for groups B and C (both p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Although the overall survival rates for stage I esophageal cancer were excellent, a significant disparity in survival rates was noted among the institutions for stage II–IVA tumors treated by CRT.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (21249066) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, and a Grant-in-Aid from the Japanese Radiation Oncology Study Group (JROSG).

Conflict of interest

None declared.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, Ohno-Higashi, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka, 589-8511, Japan

    Yasumasa Nishimura & Ryuta Koike

  2. Department of Radiology, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan

    Kazuhiko Ogawa

  3. Department of Radiology, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata, Japan

    Ryuta Sasamoto

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

    Yuji Murakami

  5. Department of Radiology, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

    Yoshiyuki Itoh

  6. Department of Radiology, Tenri Hospital, Tenri, Nara, Japan

    Yoshiharu Negoro

  7. Department of Radiation Oncology and Image-Applied Therapy, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Satoshi Itasaka

  8. Department of Radiation Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

    Toru Sakayauchi

  9. Department of Radiation Oncology, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Nara, Japan

    Tetsuro Tamamoto

Authors
  1. Yasumasa Nishimura
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  2. Ryuta Koike
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  3. Kazuhiko Ogawa
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  4. Ryuta Sasamoto
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  5. Yuji Murakami
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  6. Yoshiyuki Itoh
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  7. Yoshiharu Negoro
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  8. Satoshi Itasaka
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  9. Toru Sakayauchi
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  10. Tetsuro Tamamoto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasumasa Nishimura.

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Nishimura, Y., Koike, R., Ogawa, K. et al. Clinical practice and outcome of radiotherapy for esophageal cancer between 1999 and 2003: the Japanese Radiation Oncology Study Group (JROSG) Survey. Int J Clin Oncol 17, 48–54 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-011-0254-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-011-0254-y

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