The Role of Radiation in the Perioperative Treatment of Esophagogastric Cancer

Opinion statement

Cancers of the esophagus, stomach, and the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) remain a global health problem. There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus and EGJ in the past two decades with little change in the poor prognosis associated with these cancers. Previously surgery alone was the mainstay of therapeutic intervention, but high rates of local and systemic failure have prompted investigation into neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy. Treatment paradigms differ across continents, but the unifying theme that has emerged in the past decade implies that surgery alone can no longer be considered the standard of care. The multi-disciplinary management of patients with locally advanced esophagogastric carcinomas using trimodality therapy with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery confers the greatest opportunity for margin negative resection, improved loco-regional control and cure, and should be the accepted treatment paradigm. The traditional backbone of platinum plus fluorouracil concurrent with radiotherapy may be supplanted by more modern, easier-to-administer regimens incorporating taxanes and irinotecan. The current generation of clinical trials in this heterogeneous group of diseases is examining targeted therapy, newer methods of radiotherapy, and predictors of response to therapy aiming to tailor management to an individual patient.