Phase 3 study of adding S-1 chemotherapy to radiotherapy for esophageal cancer in older patients

Most older patients with esophageal cancer cannot complete the standard concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). An effective and tolerable CCRT regimen for older patients is needed. A multicenter randomized phase 3 study in China evaluated addition of S-1 chemotherapy to radiotherapy for esophageal cancer in elderly patients (median age 77 years). CCRT with S-1 was tolerable and provided significant benefits over RT alone (two-year overall survival 53.2% versus 35.8%; HR 0.63; p=0.02).