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PURPOSE The prognosis of patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer (LAEC) remains poor when treated with local modalities. An intensive preoperative program with chemoradiotherapy was used to evaluate the curative resection rate, pathologic response, and survival of patients with LAEC. PATIENTS AND METHODS Ninety patients with LAEC were treated preoperatively with chemotherapy (three courses of fluorouracil, leucovorin, etoposide, and cisplatin [FLEP]) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (one course of cisplatin plus etoposide in combination with 40 Gy of radiation). Transthoracic esophagectomy was performed 4 weeks after the end of radiation. RESULTS Seventy-two patients were included in this evaluation. Forty-four (61%) underwent a complete tumor resection, and 16 (22%) had no tumor in the resected specimen (pathologic complete response [PCR]). The operative mortality rate was 15%. At a median follow-up time of 22 months (range, 12 to 41), the median survival duration of all 72 patients was 17 months (range, 1 to 41+). The calculated survival rates at 3 years were 33%, 42%, and 68% for all patients, patients after complete resection, and patients with PCR, respectively. CONCLUSION This combined treatment modality is active in LAEC, with a PCR in 33% of the patients undergoing surgery. The results appear improved compared with those reported with surgery alone, by approximately doubling the 3-year survival rate. The high efficacy of preoperative chemoradiation warrants evaluation of the role of surgery in LAEC.

10525 Background: Advanced pediatric sarcomas are associated with poor prognosis. These truly rare diseases include Ewing’s sarcomas (ES), metastatic to more than one bone or early relapse as well ...

3 Background: Previous studies demonstrated that fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET can help to detect response early during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The prognosis of metabolic non-responders is poor. Therefore, we initiated the prospective MUNICON-II study to determine the value of salvage neoadjuvant chemoradiation in early PET nonresponders. Methods: 56 patients (pts) with locally advanced AEG type I and II (cT3/4 Nx M0) were included. Tumor glucose uptake was assessed by FDG-PET before and 14 days after initiation of chemotherapy. PET nonresponse was defined as a decrease of the tumor FDG standard uptake value < 35%. Nonresponders received salvage preoperative chemoradiation consisting of external beam radiation 32 Gy (1.6 Gy/fr x 2/day) plus daily cisplatin 6mg/m2 and then proceeded to surgery. Metabolic responders continued with chemotherapy (platin/5-FU-based) for 3 months. Results: 33 pts had a PET response, 23 had a PET nonresponse. Resection was performed on 54 pts. R0 was achieved in 27 (82%) PET responders versus 16 (70%) nonresponders (p = 0.51). Major histologic remissions (< 10% residual tumor) were observed in 12 PET responders (36%) and 6 PET non responders (26%). After a median follow-up time of 38.0 mon, the median event-free survival (EFS) and the median overall survival (OS) were not yet reached in the PET responders, while EFS was 15.4 mon and OS was 18.3 mon in nonresponders. Conclusions: This study confirms the prognostic value of early metabolic response evaluation during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Histopathologic responses were observed after salvage chemoradiation, but the clinical outcome of early PET non-responders to chemotherapy remains poor, indicating a dismal tumor biology in this group of pts. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

4572 Background: The treatment of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is discussed controversial. A limited resection of the cervical esophagus and reconstruction with a free jejenunal graft interposition using a microsurgical technique has been evaluated in our department. Methods: From 1986–2006 94 patients with the initial staging uT2–4, N any cM0 (75 male, 19 female; age 56+9.6, range: 19–74 years) with cervical SCC of the esophagus were treated with limited esophageal resection and reconstructed with a free jejunal autograft in combination after neoadjuvant RCTx within phase II studies. The median follow up is 23 months (0.1–120). Results: Laryngectomie had to be performed in 13 patients (14%). Recurrent nerve palsy on one side was found in 15/77 (19.5%) and on both sides in 13/77 (17%). Complications occurred in 70 (75%) of the patients, 47% of the patients had more than one complication. Reoperations were necessary in 29 patients (31%). The 30-day mortality was 2/94 (2.1%). Median survival is 29.9 months (1-, 3 and 5-year survival rates: 81%, 43%, 41%). 27/94 (29%) patients showed complete tumor regression (ypT0) after RCTx. Prognostic factors are complete tumor regression (p=0.007), ypT-(p=0.006), the R-category (p=0.018), but not the ypN-category (p=0.06). Neither the occurrence of complications (p=0.57) nor reoperation (p=.89) are associated with survival. The complete resection rate was 76 % (71/94). Median survival is 34.3 months, median recurrence free survival is 21.4 months for the R0 resected patients. 30/71 (42%) had a recurrence (locoregional in 27% (19/71), distant metastases in 10% (7/71) and a combination of both in 6% (4/71). Conclusions: Limited resection of the esophagus and reconstruction by a free jejunal graft after neoadjuvant RCTx is highly sophisticated and complex. Despite a high complication and reoperation rate the results are excellent with a low mortality and a good prognosis. This approach seems to be appropriate for cervical SCC in oncological centers with an infrastructure providing interdisciplinary management. Comparable data for cervical SCC of the esophagus without the inclusion of hypopharyx carcinoma do not exist in literature so far. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

1578 Background: We evaluated the added value of systemic chemotherapy (CTx) in adult patients with recurrent supratentorial glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) selected to receive local re-treatment (administered as a 2nd course of radiotherapy, RTx). Methods: Retrospective comparison of two patient cohorts treated subsequently during different time periods. All patients had histologically confirmed recurrent GBM. Minimum recurrence-free interval was 4 months. The first cohort (n=26) had surgical resection and standard postoperative external beam RTx followed by a second course of external beam RTx for recurrence (median cumulative dose 102 Gy). None of these patients ever received CTx during the whole course of disease. The more recently treated cohort (after 1999) of 19 patients also had surgical resection and 2 courses of external beam RTx (median cumulative dose 90 Gy). After primary local treatment, 9 of these patients had adjuvant nitrosourea-based CTx. At recurrence, all 19 patients received temozolomide 150–200 mg/m2/day for five days every 4 weeks in addition to RTx. Results: The cohort without CTx had less favorable baseline characteristics, because of their significantly lower median KPS at recurrence (70 vs. 90%, p0.05). The percentage of patients with secondary GBM was similar (21 vs. 23%, p>0.5). Median survival from re-irradiation was significantly better in the RTx plus CTx group, 9 vs. 5 months (p [Table: see text]

4060 Background: Response evaluation by positron emission tomography with the glucose analog [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) has been used in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy (RTx/CTx). This prospective study was undertaken to compare FDG-PET assessment of tumor response during RTx/CTx with histopathology in patients with ESCC, and to correlate the findings with survival. Methods: Patients (n=61) with histologically proven intrathoracic ESCC (cT3, cN0/+, cM0) underwent preoperative, simultaneous RTx/CTx followed by esophagectomy between 1996 and 2005. The patients underwent FDG-PET prior to and 2 weeks after the begin of RTx/CTx (20Gray). Histopathological response was quantified as the percentage of residual tumor cells. The threshold pre-therapy-to-during-therapy decrease in standardized uptake value by FDG-PET used to define metabolic responders (ΔSUVR) was -30%. Results: Receiving-operator-curve analysis (ROC) for determination of metabolic response revealed an area-under-curve (AUC) of 7140 (p=0.005) with a sensitivity of 76%, specificity (70%), a positive predictive value of 81% and a negative predictive value of 64% (p [Table: see text]

4266 Background: Biweekly Oxa plus 5FU and radiation has shown significant activity in esophageal cancer (JCO 2002; 20: 2844–50). We have now conducted a phase I trial adding concurrent RT to weekl...

9552 Purpose: To test whether insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) ameliorates or prevents radiation-induced kidney dysfunction and to establish the dose-effect relationship for this growth factor ...