Results of external irradiation and low-dose-rate intraluminal brachytherapy for esophageal cancer.

The results of definitive radiotherapy to elucidate the optimal doses of external irradiation (ERT) and low-dose-rate intraluminal brachytherapy (ILBT) were analyzed. Between 1979 and 1998, 100 patients with esophageal cancer were treated with ERT and ILBT. ERT was given at a dose of 40-65 Gy/25-32 fractions and ILBT at 10-24.3 Gy/2-3 fractions. The 5-year actuarial survival rate for all cases was 13% and that for patients with tumors of 5 cm or less in length was 22.64%, while for patients with tumors longer than 5 cm the rate was 5% (p < 0.005). In patients with tumors of 5 cm or less in length, the local control rate of those whose ILBT dose was 20 Gy or more was 83%, and for those with an ILBT dose of less than 20 Gy the control rate was 26.5% (p = 0.014). In patients with tumors of 5 cm or less in length, the results of treatment with 60 Gy ERT and 20 Gy ILBT were promising and did not cause severe late complications.