Gemcitabine Plus Irinotecan in Patients With Esophageal Cancer, Phase II
Gemcitabine Plus Irinotecan in Patients With Esophageal Cancer, Phase II
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells.
PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have metastatic or recurrent cancer of the esophagus.
OBJECTIVES:
OUTLINE: Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes and irinotecan IV over 90 minutes on days 1 and 8. Treatment repeats every 21 days for at least 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year and then every 6 months for 2 years.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 30-55 patients will be accrued for this study.
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
Histologically confirmed metastatic or recurrent carcinoma of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction
No known brain metastases
PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
Age:
Performance status:
Life expectancy:
Hematopoietic:
Hepatic:
Renal:
Cardiovascular:
Gastrointestinal:
Other:
PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
Biologic therapy:
Chemotherapy:
Endocrine therapy:
Radiotherapy:
Surgery:
Other:
Los Angeles, California 90033-0804, United States
Hines, Illinois 60141, United States
Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0084, United States
Shreveport, Louisiana 71130-3932, United States
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts 02130, United States
San Antonio, Texas 78284-7845, United States