Dr. Ilson Discusses the Findings of the RTOG 0436 Trial

David H. Ilson, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the conclusions of the RTOG 0436 trial, a phase III trial of cisplatin, paclitaxel, and radiation with or without cetuximab in the non-operative treatment of esophageal cancer.

Ilson says results of the study showed that in the non-operative management of esophageal cancer, adding cetuximab to concurrent chemotherapy in radiation does not improve overall survival. It also does not improve the rate of endoscopic complete response, regardless of whether the patients had adenocarcinoma or squamous cancers. The study also showed that good performance status and a smaller tumor size correlates with better outcomes.

The outcome of this study is identical to other reported recent series in the non-operative management of esophageal cancer. Ilson says this supports the use of a regimen of paclitaxel and cisplatin in this subset of patients.