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A phase II study of carboplatin and paclitaxel in esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND
This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combination carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with esophageal cancer.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-five patients were enrolled. Patients were treated with paclitaxel 200 mg/m(2) intravenously (i.v.) over 3 h and carboplatin i.v. at an AUC of 5 mg/h/ml. Thirty-three patients were assessable for toxicity and objective response.


RESULTS
A total of 166 treatment courses were administered with a median of five courses per patient. The objective response rate was 43% [90% confidence interval (CI) 0.3-0.58] by the intention-to-treat analysis. The median response duration was 2.8 months (90% CI 2.1-5.4). The median survival time was 9 months (90% CI 7-13.8) and the 1-year survival rate was 43% (90% CI 0.29-0.57). The major grade 3-4 toxicity observed was neutropenia, occurring in 17 patients (52%). There were no treatment-related deaths.


CONCLUSIONS
The combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel is an moderately active and tolerable regimen in advanced esophageal cancer.