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In the present phase II study, 31 patients with advanced measurable esophageal carcinomas were treated with a combination of 30 mg vindesine/m2 and 70 mg cisplatin/m2. The overall response rate was 16.1% (95% confidence limits, 7.1-32.6%). Responses were seen in metastatic sites, including the liver in two patients, a lung in one, neck or mediastinal lymph nodes in two and primary sites in two. The response durations were between one and two months for patients achieving partial response. The average survival time after first administration was 5.5 months for patients who responded to treatment, whereas, for those who did not, it was 7.3 months. The major form of toxicity was myelosuppression, 14 patients developed grade 2-3 toxicity and one sepsis which led to death. No superiority of the combined chemotherapy over either cisplatin or vindesine therapy alone was suggested for cases of advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus by the present study.
Iizuka et al. (Sat,) studied this question.