Esophageal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, while more than half new cases and deaths occurred in China. Surgery is the main curative treatment for this disease, the 5-year survival of EC remains poor, since most diseases are diagnosed at advanced stages.

In last decades, several large clinical trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that neo-adjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery can significantly increase the overall survival of patients with EC compared with surgery alone, while no effect of nCRT was apparent on postoperative health-related quality of life . However, the optimal radiation dose and surgery timing are still unknown.

The investigators hypothesize that patients who receive higher dose (50.4Gy/28F) of neoadjuvant chemoradiation will have better pathologic response and progress-free survival compared to lower dose (41.4Gy/23F) of chemoradiation followed by surgery.

Inclusion Criteria:

Age:18-70 years

Histologically verified squamous carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus.

Patients with performance status 0-1 according to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scale at the pre CRT evaluation and judges to be fit for surgery at the pre and post CRT evaluations.

Tumors should be resectable or potentially resectable and without distant metastasis, as assessed before neoadjuvant CRT, including clinical stage T2-4N0M0 or T1-4N1M0 according to the 6th AJCC system.

Joined the study voluntarily and signed informed consent form

No surgical contraindications

No serious system dysfunction and immuno-deficiency, Adequate organ function including the following: Hemoglobin ≥10 g/dL, Neutrophils (ANC )≥1.5x109/L, platelet count ≥100x 109/L, TBIL<1.5 x ULN, ALT and AST ≤ 2.5 x ULN, creatinine≤1.5 x ULN

Exclusion Criteria:

Cervical esophageal cancer (The upper end of the lesion is in the esophagus of the cervical segment).

Patients with biopsy (by endoscopic ultrasound, laparoscopy, or laparotomy) proven metastatic supraclavicular or celiac nodes are ineligible.

Invasion of the tracheobronchial tree or aorta

Tracheoesophageal fistula

Concurrent pregnancy or lactation

Severe diabetes mellitus with poor blood glucose control

History of a second malignancy

Patients being unable to undergo esophageal reconstruction with gastric tube, due to prior surgery.

Patients undergoing esophageal reconstruction with jejunum.

Patients have allergy reaction or contraindications to taxanes.