Challenging disease, challenging trial, challenging interpretation
Mené sur 220 patients atteints d'un cancer de l'œsophage de stade avancé, cet essai randomisé compare l'efficacité et la toxicité d'une chimioradiothérapie et d'une radiothérapie seule pour soulager une dysphagie dans un contexte palliatif
Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer worldwide and the sixth most common cause of death from cancer, with an annual mortality of nearly 90%.1 Symptoms of early oesophageal cancer are difficult to differentiate from those of far more common and benign diseases such as reflux oesophagitis. Symptoms more predictive of malignant disease, such as dysphagia and weight loss, are characteristic of advanced disease that will rarely be cured.
The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology , commentaire, 2016