Patients with unresectable or metastatic esophageal cancer experience regression of their cancer following treatment with combination chemotherapy but are rarely cured. Platinum compounds (cisplatin and carboplatin) are known to be active anti-cancer chemotherapy agents for the treatment of esophageal cancer. Treatment regimens containing cisplatin chemotherapy produce partial responses in approximately 25% of patients with esophageal cancer.

Camptosar® is a new chemotherapy drug with activity against cancers of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract. Previous clinical studies have suggested that cisplatin can be combined with Camptosar® chemotherapy and these combinations are well tolerated by patients. Physicians at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have treated 35 patients with metastatic or unresectable adenocarcinoma or squamous cell cancer of the esophagus with a combination of cisplatin and Camptosar® chemotherapy, and reported the results in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Major clinical responses were observed in 20 patients (57%) and 2 patients experienced complete disappearance of their cancer. Responses were observed in both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The average duration of response was 4 months. In 20 patients with difficulty swallowing, 90% had improvement or resolution of their symptoms. Responding patients also experienced an improvement in their quality of life primarily because of reductions in pain and improvement in their emotional state. The therapy was well tolerated and side effects were relatively mild.

Combined cisplatin and Camptosar® chemotherapy has significant anti-cancer activity against esophageal cancer, which resulted in a significant improvement in symptoms attributed to the cancer. The relatively good response rate with this drug combination may best be utilized by combining the drugs with radiation therapy in an attempt to increase the complete remission rate or be used earlier in the disease course. ( Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 17, No 10, pp 3270-3275, 1999)