Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the ten leading cancers in Taiwanese male. The prognosis is poor with a five-year overall survival rate of 10 to 30 %. Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that trimodality therapy (TMT), consisted of neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) and radical esophagectomy, improves the overall survival for patients with locally advanced disease. Despite of the advancement, the outcome remained unsatisfactory with the median progression-free survival around 20 to 25 months and median overall survival around 30 months. It is know that the most important prognostic factor is whether a pathological complete response can be achieved after neoadjuvant CCRT. However, the use of new generation chemotherapeutic agent taxanes and epidermal growth factor inhibitors (such as Cetuximab) failed to significantly improve prognosis comparing to the standard platinum-fluorouracil (PF) regimen. As a consequence, it is mandatory to develop new chemotherapeutic regimen for CCRT. In previous prospective studies, investigators used proximal ligation assay technology to identify serum VEGF-A in correlation with the pathological response and prognosis for patients receiving neoadjuvant CCRT plus radical esophagectomy for locally advanced ESCC. Other investigators also showed high VEGF expression correlating to poor outcome. Therefore, investigators generate the hypothesis that adding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monoclonal antibody, Bevacizumab, to standard neoadjuvant CCRT may improve outcome for patients with ESCC. Meanwhile, several prospective clinical studies have shown the feasibility, safety, and activity of adding Bevacizumab to chemotherapy, CCRT, or combined modality therapy including surgery, either in head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, or esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma. However, its efficacy should be further investigated in larger prospective trials and little is known about the activity and toxicity of Bevacizumab in ESCC due to small number of reported cases. In the present clinical trial, investigators plan to investigate whether incorporation of Bevacizumab into standard neoadjuvant PF-CCRT will improve treatment response and increase pathological complete response rate. Investigators will also evaluate associated biomarkers in relation to prognosis. By the present research, investigators expect to develop a new TMT regimen for this poor prognostic disease.
This study is a randomized trial to compare the outcomes between patients receiving neoadjuvant PF-CCRT plus Bevacizumab (BPF-CCRT) or PF-CCRT alone. Investigators design to enrol 6 patients in the run-in phase, and 44 patients in the randomized phase (22 patients in each group) to develop the preliminary evidence for using Bevacizumab in ESCC.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
50
Six patients will be enrolled in run-in phase. If \<= 1 patient developed dose-limiting toxicity, the trial will be continued to randomized phase. If \> 1 patients developed dose-limiting toxicities, the protocol will be discontinued.
Twenty-two patients will be planned to assign to the experimental arm
Twenty-two patients will be planned to assign to the active control arm
National Taiwan University Hospital
Taipei, Taiwan
RECRUITINGDose-limiting toxicity (run-in phase)
Number of participant in the run-in phase with life-threatening adverse event or death, which is probable or definitely associated with bevacizumab
Time frame: 30 days after radical esophagectomy
Pathological complete response rate (randomized phase)
Number of participant achieved pathological complete response, which is defined as complete surgical resection of all gross tumours without residual microscopic invasive carcinoma at primary tumor location and dissected lymph nodes.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Acute toxicity
Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events version 4
Time frame: From date of CCRT until 90 days after CCRT starts
Late toxicity
Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events version 4
Time frame: From 90 days after CCRT starts until the date of death from any cause, up to 60 months
Patient reported outcome (Quality of Life questionnaire of cancer patients)
EORTC Quality of Life-Core 30 questionnaire module
Time frame: At baseline, 2, 4 weeks after CCRT, before surgery, 1 month after surgery, and every 3 month thereafter until unequivocal progression, hospice care, or death, assessed up to 24 months
Patient reported outcome (Quality of Life questionnaire of esophageal cancer patients)
EORTC Quality of Life-Oesophagus(OES) 18 questionnaire module
Time frame: At baseline, 2, 4 weeks after CCRT, before surgery, 1 month after surgery, and every 3 month thereafter until unequivocal progression, hospice care, or death, assessed up to 24 months
Image response
Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors version 1.1
Time frame: at baseline and before surgery (8 weeks)
Metabolic Image response
Positron Emission Tomography Response Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.0
Time frame: at baseline and before surgery (8 weeks)
Progression-free survival
Number of participant with disease progression
Time frame: From date of enrolment until the date of first documented disease progression or date of death from any cause, whichever came first, assessed up to 60 months
Overall survival
Number of participant alive
Time frame: From date of enrollment until the date of death from any cause, assessed up to 60 months
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