Preoperative chemotherapy for esophageal cancer based on chemosensitivity testing.

To examine the role and significance of in vitro chemosensitivity testing on cells cultured from endoscopic biopsy specimens, we evaluated outcomes in 57 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus. Over 3 1/2 years, 57 patients were treated with a single course of preoperative combination chemotherapy based on the results of chemosensitivity testing utilizing eight antineoplastic agents. A radiologically evident response (partial response) was seen in 23 patients (40.4%) and histologic effects on grade IIb tumors were seen in six patients (10.5%). The median survival time of all 57 patients was 16.3 months. The median survival time of nine patients who received palliative resection was 4.5 months. The median survival times after curative resection of the 19 patients with a partial response and 29 patients with no response were 27.7 months and 17.3 months, respectively (p < 0.009). The most frequent combination chemotherapy used was cis-dichlorodiammine platinum (II) vindesine/5-fluorouracil, and a high rate of response was noted after therapy with etoposide and 4'-D-tetrahydropyranyl-doxorubicin. Chemosensitivity testing appears to be useful in selecting preoperative chemotherapeutic agents for patients with esophageal cancer, decreasing tumor recurrence after surgery and resulting in more partial responses than conventional chemotherapy.