The role of chemotherapy in the management of esophageal cancer is in combined modality treatment of localized disease and in the palliation of metastasizing stages. Benefit of chemotherapy in metastatic disease is less clear in squamous cell cancer than in adenocarcinoma.
We treat the patients regardless age if they are in good performance status and have positive attitude to the treatment. The combinations based on cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil are standard of care.
Some data support the same chemotherapy regimen in squamous cancer as well as in adenocarcinoma.