Mapping of failures after radiochemotherapy in patients with non-metastatic esophageal cancer: A posteriori analysis of the dose distribution in the sites of loco-regional relapse.

Abstract Background and purpose We aimed to evaluate the patterns of loco-regional failure (LRF) after exclusive chemoradiotherapy (eCRT) for esophageal cancer with respect to planned dose and/or the incidental (unplanned) dose outside target volumes. Materials and methods Co-image registration of CT or 18 F-FDG PET-CT at the time of failure (tf) and at the time of CRT (t0) was performed in 34 patients with LRF. Dosimetric parameters with regard to local failure (LF), nodal failure (NF) and involved nodal stations (NS) were derived. Results Twenty-two patients (64.7%) had LF, the majority of which (95.5%) were located at the epicenter of the GTV of the primary tumor. The mean doses recalcul…