Intensity-modulated radiation therapy for elderly patients with esophageal cancer: Our experience

The aim of this study was to discuss the treatment mode of radical radiotherapy (RT) for elderly patients with esophageal cancer (EC). The clinical data of 136 elderly patients (≥60 years old) with EC who received radical intensity-modulated RT in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from January 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Cox risk model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis, and Kaplan–Meier method was used to calculate progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Cox regression analysis showed that ECOG score, basic diseases, T stage, radiation dose, radiation injury, and chemotherapy were the prognostic factors of elderly patients. The median OS of the RT group, concurrent chemoradiotherapy group, and sequential chemoradiotherapy group were 17, 41, and 10 months (p ═ 0.009), respectively. The 3-year OS and PFS of concurrent intravenous chemotherapy and oral chemotherapy were 50% and 42.9%, and 34.1% and 28.6% (p ═ 0.641, p ═ 0.702), respectively. The median OS of involved field irradiation and elective nodal irradiation (ENI) were 23 and 24 months (p ═ 0.219) and the local recurrence rate were 59.8% and 43.2% (p ═ 0.069), respectively, but the incidence and mortality of radiation pneumonia and esophagitis in ENI were higher. The 3-year OS and PFS of the low-dose group (≤60 Gy) and the high-dose group (>60 Gy) were 19.1% and 40.4%, and 14.9% and 29.2% (p ═ 0.012, p ═ 0.049), respectively. In conclusion, for elderly patients with inoperable EC, radical chemoradiotherapy should be considered a preferable selection. Among them, oral drugs and high-dose involved field irradiation exhibited better curative effects and safety.