CCTG ES3 NEEDS international esophageal cancer trial has opened

The CCTG ES3 NEEDS international esophageal cancer clinical trial is now opened in Canada. The study is investigating whether delaying surgery for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is as good as the current treatment.

"By avoiding surgery, our hope is that the NEEDS trial positively impacts the quality of life of esophageal cancer patients." says the Canadian study lead Dr. Jelena Lukovic is a radiation oncologist at the University Health Network’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. 

Researchers want to determine if avoiding or delaying surgery in patients who have a good response to chemotherapy and radiation treatment will improve quality of life. The usual treatment is a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy followed by esophagectomy, a surgical procedure in which all or part of the esophagus is removed. Esophagectomy has a negative impact on quality of life and existing scientific evidence has not resolved whether it is truly necessary.

Gastrointestinal Disease Site Committee Patient Representative Haydn Bechthold says "Surgery often imposes a substantial physical and mental burden on patients. The possibility of avoiding surgery while achieving the same outcomes, would be a welcome change to the current standard of care." 

Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer, and sixth most common cause of cancer death and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma represents 90% of cases globally. This new approach could reduce the number of patients who need surgery for this type of cancer by limiting it to only those who need it.

Funding has provided through Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Cancer Society.