Find a Clinical Trial Find out about new research studies for esophageal cancer 
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Investigational Approaches
Memorial Sloan-Kettering investigators are assessing several new drugs to treat esophageal cancers. These investigational approaches are sometimes offered to eligible patients through the clinical trial process. Some of these research efforts are highlighted below. For up-to-date details about current clinical trials at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, please visit our clinical trial database.
- Our researchers are investigating the effectiveness of various anticancer drugs for treating esophageal cancer, including combinations of cisplatin, fluorouracil, paclitaxel (Taxol), and irinotecan (CPT-11, or Camptosar). Paclitaxel in particular is showing promising results when used alone or in combination with cisplatin. These drugs are also under evaluation for use with radiation therapy.
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering doctors are also pursuing new anticancer agents for esophageal cancer. For example, the ability of two new drugs -- bryostatin and flavopiridol -- to improve the effectiveness of paclitaxel is currently under investigation in clinical trials.
- For patients with tumors in the lower esophagus or the gastroesophageal junction, our researchers are evaluating a new class of drugs called epothilones. This class of drugs works in a manner similar to paclitaxel, but importantly appear to overcome the resistance that some tumors develop to paclitaxel.
- Tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (such as SU5416 and OSI-774) are a new class of drugs that offer another promising avenue of investigation. These drugs are small biologic molecules that directly attack tumor cells at the molecular level. They are being evaluated in combination with chemotherapy and radiation therapy for upper gastrointestinal cancers.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy works best against esophageal cancer when combined with chemotherapy, either as the primary treatment or before surgery. It is also commonly used to relieve pain, enhance swallowing, or treat other symptoms of esophageal cancer. Radiation therapy may be delivered externally, from a machine outside the body, or internally, via thin plastic tubes that are implanted in the area where cancer cells reside (an approach called brachytherapy). When radiation therapy is used to treat esophageal cancer, the doctor may insert a plastic or metal tube into the esophagus to keep it open -- a procedure called intraluminal intubation and dilation.
Palliative Treatments
Patients with esophageal cancer may also receive treatment that is not curative but relieves their pain and other symptoms. For example, a surgeon may implant a stent, a metal mesh device that is placed into the esophagus near the tumor to help keep the esophagus open. Stents may enhance swallowing and enable a patient to continue eating a nutritious diet. Photodynamic therapy is also used to relieve swallowing difficulties.
Photodynamic therapy is another option for certain patients with esophageal cancer, used primarily for relieving discomfort. This form of therapy is approved for the relief of esophageal obstruction, and is being investigated for treating early cancers of the esophagus.
In this procedure, the patient receives an injection of a special light-sensitive drug that collects in the tumor. The doctor then shines a laser light on the esophageal tissue using an endoscope. The light activates the drug that has collected in the cancer tissue and enables it to kill cancer cells. Because the drug collects only in cancerous tissue, normal tissue is spared from the drug's toxic effects.
Some patients need to follow a liquid diet during treatment for esophageal cancer, particularly when the tumor causes significant obstruction in the esophagus. In others, a feeding tube may be implanted outside the abdomen that delivers food into the stomach; this measure is usually temporary and is sometimes required during chemotherapy and radiation therapy, when some patients have trouble eating.
Patients whose tumors are partially blocking the esophagus may benefit from laser endoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor uses an endoscope to aim laser beams at the cancer, sparing the patient from an external surgical incision. Because the cancer can continue to grow back, laser endoscopy may need to be repeated every six to eight weeks in order to continue to relieve the obstruction. This procedure is available at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Because the cancer may grow around certain nerves, patients with esophageal cancer may experience pain. If you are in pain, be sure to tell your doctor so that you can receive pain-relieving medication.
