Patients

Patients with histologically proven squamous cell, adenosquamous, or basaloid carcinoma of the thoracic oesophagus were eligible if they had any of the following conditions: clinical T4 cancer, at least one unresectable metastatic regional lymph node due to invasion into an adjacent organ, or computed tomographic (CT) evidence of M1Lym, such as fixed supraclavicular nodes. Regional lymph nodes were defined on the basis of criteria specified by the seventh edition of the Union for International Cancer Control TNM staging system (Sobin and Wittekind, 2009). Other eligibility criteria were as follows: no prior chemotherapy and/or RT for oesophageal or any other carcinoma, age 20–75 years, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) of 0–1, and adequate organ functioning. Patients with an oesophageal perforation, oesophageal fistula, tumour bleeding, distant organ metastases, serious complications, severe infection, or mental disorder, were excluded from the study. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients prior to enrollment. The study was approved by the institutional review board at each site. This study was registered with the UMIN Clinic Trials Registry (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/), identification number UMIN000011089.