Preoperative Chemoradiation in Locally-Advanced Resectable Carcinoma of the Esophagus in a Single Rural Cancer Hospital in Western India

Background The current standard of care for the treatment of surgically resectable carcinoma of the esophagus is preoperative chemoradiation followed by surgery. There is strong evidence that this trimodality approach improves survival as compared with surgery alone. Objective The objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of this approach in a rural cancer institute in western India. Materials and Methods The data of all the 157 consecutively treated patients with locally-advanced carcinoma of the esophagus from March 2013 to March 2017 who were started on preoperative chemoradiation were analyzed retrospectively. Results Of the 157 patients who were started on preoperative chemoradiation, 68 patients underwent surgery. There are various practical reasons for not undergoing the definitive surgery, with the important being the socioeconomic support to the patients during the course of treatment. Conclusion This study gave us insight into the strategic selection of patients for the trimodality approach as well as the need for continuous socioeconomic support throughout the treatment course.