Japanese prospective registry study of particle therapy for esophageal cancer including comparison with clinical trials in Japan.

BACKGROUND

Particle therapy is gaining interest for treating esophageal cancer due to its ability to target tumors while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding organs compared to X-ray therapy. While simulations show a favorable distribution with particle therapy, there is ongoing discussion regarding its impact on the prognosis of esophageal cancer. This study sought to assess the effectiveness of particle therapy in treating esophageal cancer by comparing it with previous clinical trials of X-ray therapy in Japan.

METHODS

This was a multicenter, prospective, observational registry study, and particle therapy was performed in accordance with a unified treatment policy. For stage I and II/III cases, cases that met the eligibility criteria for the Japan Clinical Oncology Group 0502 and 0909 clinical trials were extracted, and the clinical results were compared.

RESULTS

The three-year overall survival rates were 94.7% and 84.9% for stage I and stage II/III cases, respectively. The three-year progression-free survival rates were 90.4% in stage I patients and 60.3% in stage II/III patients. No statistically significant differences were observed in overall survival or progression-free survival when comparing registry data with the two Japan Clinical Oncology Group studies. No grade 3 or higher cardiopulmonary toxicities were observed in the registry data.

CONCLUSIONS

This study analyzed nationwide registry data, and particle therapy is a safe treatment regarding toxicity for esophageal cancer, although further investigation into its effectiveness is needed.