J Korean Soc Ther Radiol Oncol.  2007 Jun;25(2):79-92.

Preliminary Report of the 1998~1999 Patterns of Care Study of Radiation Therapy for Esophageal Cancer in Korea

• Hur WJ
• Choi Y
• Lee HS
• Kim JK
• Kim IH
• Lee HJ
• Lee KC
• Kim JS
• Chun MS
• Kim JH
• Ahn YC
• Kim SG
• Kim BK
• Nam TK
• Choi DH
• Kang KM
• Kwon BH
• Kim DY
• Jang JY
• Sohn SC
• Suh HS
• Yang DS
• Kim WC
• Suh CO
• Ahn K
• Jeung TS

Abstract

PURPOSE: For the first time, a nationwide survey in the Republic of Korea was conducted to determine the basic parameters for the treatment of esophageal cancer and to offer a solid cooperative system for the Korean Pattern of Care Study database.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
During 1998~1999, biopsy-confirmed 246 esophageal cancer patients that received radiotherapy were enrolled from 23 different institutions in South Korea. Random sampling was based on power allocation method. Patient parameters and specific information regarding tumor characteristics and treatment methods were collected and registered through the web based PCS system. The data was analyzed by the use of the Chi-squared test.
RESULTS
The median age of the collected patients was 62 years. The male to female ratio was about 91 to 9 with an absolute male predominance. The performance status ranged from ECOG 0 to 1 in 82.5% of the patients. Diagnostic procedures included an esophagogram (228 patients, 92.7%), endoscopy (226 patients, 91.9%), and a chest CT scan (238 patients, 96.7%). Squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed in 96.3% of the patients; mid-thoracic esophageal cancer was most prevalent (110 patients, 44.7%) and 135 patients presented with clinical stage III disease. Fifty seven patients received radiotherapy alone and 37 patients received surgery with adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy. Half of the patients (123 patients) received chemotherapy together with RT and 70 patients (56.9%) received it as concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The most frequently used chemotherapeutic agent was a combination of cisplatin and 5-FU. Most patients received radiotherapy either with 6 MV (116 patients, 47.2%) or with 10 MV photons (87 patients, 35.4%). Radiotherapy was delivered through a conventional AP-PA field for 206 patients (83.7%) without using a CT plan and the median delivered dose was 3,600 cGy. The median total dose of postoperative radiotherapy was 5,040 cGy while for the non-operative patients the median total dose was 5,970 cGy. Thirty-four patients received intraluminal brachytherapy with high dose rate Iridium-192. Brachytherapy was delivered with a median dose of 300 cGy in each fraction and was typically delivered 3~4 times. The most frequently encountered complication during the radiotherapy treatment was esophagitis in 155 patients (63.0%).
CONCLUSION
For the evaluation and treatment of esophageal cancer patients at radiation facilities in Korea, this study will provide guidelines and benchmark data for the solid cooperative systems of the Korean PCS. Although some differences were noted between institutions, there was no major difference in the treatment modalities and RT techniques.

Keyword

Esophageal cancer; Patterns of care study; Radiotherapy

MeSH Terms

Brachytherapy
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Chemoradiotherapy
Cisplatin
Drug Therapy
Endoscopy
Esophageal Neoplasms*
Esophagitis
Female
Fluorouracil
Humans
Korea*
Male
Photons
Radiotherapy
Republic of Korea
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Cisplatin
Fluorouracil