Irinotecan and Taxotere With Radiotherapy as Preoperative Treatment in Resectable Esophageal Cancer

50 mg/m2 of Irinotecan will be administered intravenously over 60-90 minutes following a Taxotere infusion each week for 3 weeks. After a break, Irinotecan will then be given for 3 consecutive weeks at 45 mg/m2 in conjunction with radiotherapy.

Taxotere at 35 mg/m2 is given intravenously over 1 hour each week for three consecutive weeks. After a one-week break, patients will receive Taxotere at a 25 mg/m2 dose for the first three weeks of a 5-6 week radiotherapy regimen.

Radiotherapy will be given in 28 fractions over 5-6 weeks at 1.8 Gy per fraction for a total of 50.4 Gy. This will begin concurrently with chemotherapy on Day 29 of treatment.

After approximately 14 weeks of treatment, the patient will be evaluated for surgery. Only those who have achieved a good response will be eligible.