Early response evaluation and prediction in neoadjuvant-treated patients with esophageal cancer

Table 1 Histopathological response classification according to the amount of residual tumor within the tumor bed according to Becker et al[9]

Grade	Description	Response
1a	No residual tumor/tumor bed	Responder
1b	< 10% residual tumor/tumor bed	Responder
2	10%-50% residual tumor/tumor bed	Partial responder
3	> 50% residual tumor/tumor bed	Non-responder

Table 2 Studies that have assessed the role of a PET scan in the response prediction of patients with neoadjuvant treated squamous cell cancer of the esophagus

Author	n	RCTx	2nd PET	Correlation of PET with histopathological response yes/no
Song et al[44], 2005	32	Cis/Cap/46 Gy	4 wk	Yes
Wieder et al[45], 2004	38	5 FU/40 Gy	During RCTx	Yes
Flamen et al[46], 2002	27	Cis/5-FU/40 Gy	After RCTx	Yes (tumor:liver ratio)
Kato et al[47], 2002	10	5-FU/30 Gy	After RCTx	No
Brücher et al[48], 2001	24	5-FU/30 Gy	After RCTx	Yes

PET: Positron emission tomography; Cis: Cisplatin; Cap: Capectabine; 5-FU: 5 Flurouracil; Gy: Gray; RCTx: Radiochemotherapy.

Table 3 Studies that have assessed the role of a PET scan in the response prediction of patients with neoadjuvant treated Barrett’s cancer and cancer of the gastroesophageal junction

Author	n	CTx	2nd PET	Correlation of PET with histopathological response yes/no
Lordick et al[60], 2007	110	Cis/5-FU	2 wk during CTx	Yes
Ott et al[59], 2006	65	Cis/5-FU	2 wk during CTx	Yes
Gillham et al[49], 2006	29	Cis/5-FU	After CTx	No
Levine et al[61], 2006	52	Cis/5-FU	After CTx	Yes
Swisher et al[62], 2004	73	Cis/5-FU/50,4 Gy	After RCTx	Yes
		Irin/5-FU/Taxol/50,4 Gy
		Taxol/Carbo/50,4 Gy
Brink et al[63], 2004	13	Cis/5-FU	After CTx	No
Arslan et al[64], 2002	22	Cis/Taxol/50,4 Gy	After RCTx	Yes
Weber et al[65], 2001	40	Cis/5-FU	2 wk during CTx	Yes

Cis: Cisplatin; Irin: Irinotecan; Carbo: Carboplatin; 5-FU: 5 Flurouracil; Gy: Gray; RCTx: Radiochemotherapy; CTx: Chemotherapy.