Effect of weekly dose of docetaxel combined with radiotherapy in the treatment of elderly patients with esophageal cancer

Objective To investigate the efficacy and toxicity of weekly dose of docetaxel combined with radiotherapy in the treatment of elderly patients with esophageal cancer.Methods Seventy elderly patients with esophageal cancer treated in our department were randomly divided into chemoradiotherapy group(docetaxel combined with radiotherapy,n=36) and radiotherapy group(radiotherapy only,n=34).Patients in both groups received conventional radiotherapy(3DCRT) with a total dose of 60～66 Gy.In chemoradiotherapy group,40 mg docetaxel was administered once a week on the 1st,8th,15th,22th,29th,36th for six successive weeks.Results The efficacy of all the patients was evaluated.The response rate(CR+RR) was 88.9% and 67.6% for chemoradiotherapy group and radiotherapy group,respectively.The 1-,2and 3-year survival rate was 69.4%,58.3%,47.2% in chemoradiotherapy group,44.1%,32.4%,23.5% in radiotherapy group,respectively,with statistically significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).The incidence of myelosuppression,gastrointestinal tract,and esophagitis were slightly higher in chemoradiotherapy group than radiotherapy group(P0.05).Conclusion Weekly dose of docetaxel combined with radiotherapy can effectively treat esophageal cancer in elderly patients,and the toxic reactions were tolerable.