Clinical tools to predict outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer treated with definitive chemoradiation: are we there yet?

Definitive chemoradiation (CRT) is a well-established treatment for esophageal cancer, but disease recurrence is common and many patients do not achieve initial remission with CRT alone. Predictors of outcome with CRT are needed to guide prognosis and further treatment decisions, in particular the need for post-CRT surgery. We review the role of baseline clinical factors, such as histology and tumor bulk, in predicting response to CRT. Post-CRT assessments, particularly PET imaging, may provide further information about the likelihood of complete response and survival, but the predictive power of clinical assessments remains limited. Emerging research on biomarkers holds promise for more tailored and accurate prediction of outcome with definitive CRT.