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Home › Conditions › Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal Cancer

9 published articles · Updated continuously

Clinical Trial Landscape

Clinical Trials for Esophageal Cancer

149 trials tracked for Esophageal Cancer: 16 in phase 3 or 4 and 12 with published results. The most-cited published study has 1242 citations.

149Trials tracked
16Phase 3 & 4
0Recruiting
12With published results
Phase distribution
Phase 4 3 Phase 3 13 Phase 2 102 Phase 1 8 Other / NA 23
  1. Phase 3 Study of Nivolumab in Unresectable Advanced or Recurrent Esophageal Cancer Completed · 1,242 cited
  2. Phase 3 A Study of Tislelizumab (BGB-A317) Versus Chemotherapy as Second Line Treatment in Participants With Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Completed · 310 cited
  3. Phase 3 A Study of Tislelizumab (BGB-A317) in Combination With Chemotherapy as First Line Treatment in Participants With Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Completed · 300 cited
  4. Phase 3 Paclitaxel, Cisplatin, and Radiation Therapy With or Without Cetuximab in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer Completed · 208 cited
  5. Phase 3 Early Palliative Care With Standard Care or Standard Care Alone in Improving Quality of Life of Patients With Incurable Lung or Non-colorectal Gastrointestinal Cancer and Their Family Caregivers Completed · 130 cited
  6. Phase 4 Health Education Counseling With or Without Bupropion in Helping African Americans Stop Smoking Completed · 112 cited
Show 44 more trials
  1. Phase 3 Radiation Therapy, Paclitaxel, and Carboplatin With or Without Trastuzumab in Treating Patients With Esophageal Cancer Completed · 104 cited
  2. Phase 3 A Study to Investigate Tislelizumab (BGB-A317) Versus Placebo in Combination With Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Participants With Localized Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Completed · 71 cited
  3. Phase 3 First-line Esophageal Carcinoma Study With Pembrolizumab Plus Chemo vs. Chemo (MK-3475-590/KEYNOTE-590) Completed · 41 cited
  4. Phase 3 Efficacy and Safety of Lenvatinib (E7080/MK-7902) Plus Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) Plus Chemotherapy in Participants With Advanced/Metastatic Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma (MK-7902-015/E7080-G000-321/LEAP-015) Completed · 17 cited
  5. Phase 3 A Study of Atezolizumab Plus Tiragolumab in Combination With Paclitaxel and Cisplatin Compared With Paclitaxel and Cisplatin as First-Line Treatment in Participants With Unresectable Locally Advanced, Unresectable Recurrent, or Metastatic Esophageal Carcinoma Completed · 7 cited
  6. Phase 3 Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy After Surgery in Treating Patients With Stomach or Esophageal Cancer Completed · 3 cited
  7. Phase 4 Study of CryoSpray Ablation(TM)to Determine Treatment Effect, Depth of Injury, and Side Effects in the Esophagus. Completed
  8. Phase 4 Counseling and Nicotine Replacement Therapy in Helping Adult Smokers Quit Smoking Completed
  9. Phase 3 Toripalimab or Placebo With Paclitaxel and Cisplatin in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Completed
  10. Phase 3 A Phase III, Randomized, Study of Aspirin and Esomeprazole Chemoprevention in Barrett's Metaplasia Completed
  11. Phase 2 Erlotinib and Radiation Therapy in Treating Older Patients With Stage I, Stage II, Stage III, or Stage IV Esophageal Cancer Completed
  12. Phase 2 Gefitinib in Treating Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic Esophageal or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Completed
  13. Phase 2 Radiation Therapy and Chemotherapy Before and After Surgery in Treating Patients With Esophageal Cancer Completed
  14. Phase 2 Study of Nab-Paclitaxel and Ramucirumab as Second-line Treatment for Patients With Metastatic Gastroesophageal Cancer Completed
  15. Phase 2 Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Previously Untreated Stage II or Stage III Esophageal Cancer That Can Be Removed By Surgery Completed
  16. Phase 2 A Study of Patients Receiving High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy Completed
  17. Phase 2 Bupropion in Helping Adults Stop Smoking Completed
  18. Phase 2 IRX-2, Cyclophosphamide, and Pembrolizumab in Treating Participants With Recurrent or Metastatic Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Completed
  19. Phase 2 A Study of SAR444245 Combined With Other Anticancer Therapies for the Treatment of Participants With Gastrointestinal Cancer (Master Protocol) (Pegathor Gastrointestinal 203) Completed
  20. Phase 2 Tisotumab Vedotin Continued Treatment in Patients With Solid Tumors. Completed
  21. Phase 2 Sutent + Taxol for Advanced Esophageal Cancer Completed
  22. Phase 2 Panitumumab, Docetaxel, Cisplatin, Radiation Therapy, and Surgery in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed, Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer or Cancer of the Gastroesophageal Junction Completed
  23. Phase 2 Oxaliplatin, Capecitabine and Avastin for Metastatic Esophagogastric Adenocarcinoma Completed
  24. Phase 2 Study of Erlotinib and Chemotherapy for Unresectable or Metastatic Cancer of the Esophagus and Gastric Cardia Completed
  25. Phase 2 S0356 Oxaliplatin, 5-FU, Radiation Therapy (RT), Surgery for Pts With Stage II or III Cancer of Esophagus or Gastroesophageal (GE) Junction Completed
  26. Phase 2 Study of Docetaxel, Cisplatin, and Fluorouracil (Modified DCF) With Bevacizumab in Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma Completed
  27. Phase 2 S1201: Combination Chemo for Patients W/Advanced or Metastatic Esophageal, Gastric, or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Completed
  28. Phase 2 A Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Activity of TAK-931 in Participants With Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer, Metastatic Colorectal Cancer, and Other Advanced Solid Tumors Completed
  29. Phase 2 Cetuximab, Cisplatin, and Irinotecan in Treating Patients With Metastatic Esophageal Cancer, Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer, or Gastric Cancer That Did Not Respond to Previous Irinotecan and Cisplatin Completed
  30. Phase 2 Pralatrexate and Docetaxel in Treating Patients With Stage IV Esophageal or Gastroesophageal Cancer Who Have Failed Platinum-Based Therapy Completed
  31. Phase 2 Pralatrexate and Oxaliplatin in Treating Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Esophageal, Stomach, or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Completed
  32. Phase 2 Matuzumab Treatment With Epirubicin, Cisplatin and Capecitabine (ECX) in Esophago-Gastric Cancer Completed
  33. Phase 2 Neoadjuvant Paclitaxel Poliglumex, Cisplatin and Radiation for Esophageal Cancer: A Phase II Trial (CTI#X64001) Completed
  34. Phase 2 KeyLargo: Pembrolizumab + Oxaliplatin + Capecitabine in Gastric Cancer Completed
  35. Phase 2 FOLFOX +/- Ziv-Aflibercept for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer Completed
  36. Phase 2 Afatinib and Paclitaxel in Patients With Advanced HER2-Positive Trastuzumab-Refractory Advanced Esophagogastric Cancer Completed
  37. Phase 2 Trimodality Management of T1b Esophageal Cancers Completed
  38. Phase 2 Tadalafil and Pembrolizumab in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Completed
  39. Phase 2 Cetuximab, Paclitaxel, Carboplatin & Radiation for Esoph, Gastroesoph & Gastric Cancer Completed
  40. Phase 2 Use of Trifluridine/Tipiracil and Oxaliplatin as Induction Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Resectable Esophageal or Gastroesophageal Junction (GEJ) Adenocarcinoma Completed
  41. Phase 2 Bevacizumab, Oxaliplatin, and Docetaxel in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic Stomach or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Completed
  42. Phase 2 Ramucirumab Plus Irinotecan for Previously Treated Advanced Gastric or Gastro-esophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma Completed
  43. Phase 2 Pre-operative Chemotherapy Plus Bevacizumab With Early Salvage Therapy Based on PET Assessment of Response in Patients With Locally Advanced But Resectable Gastric and GEJ Adenocarcinoma Completed
  44. Phase 2 Sorafenib for Patients With Metastatic or Recurrent Esophageal and Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Completed

Showing the 50 most-cited and recently-updated of 149 trials. Browse the full registry →

Trial data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. Counts describe the research landscape and are not a treatment recommendation. Informational only — not medical advice.

What the trials found Updated — new results For clinicians

Esophageal Cancer: what the trials found

Several immunotherapies have demonstrated significant clinical activity in esophageal cancer. Pembrolizumab showed statistically significant improvements in Overall Survival (OS) for patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC), particularly among those with PD-L1 CPS ≥10 16, and across various cohorts 17. Additionally, Tislelizumab was associated with a significant improvement in OS 11, while Atezolizumab demonstrated statistically significant improvements in both Progression-Free Survival (PFS) 2 and Overall Survival (OS) 2.

Chemotherapy and other targeted interventions have also been evaluated. Cisplatin showed significant improvements in OS, PFS, and Objective Response Rate (ORR) 12. In contrast, Carboplatin did not show statistically significant differences in Disease-free Survival (DFS) or Pathologic Complete Response 15, and Cetuximab did not result in a statistically significant difference in 24-month Overall Survival or Local Failure rates 13.

Early palliative care was evaluated for impact on quality of life, but no statistically significant changes were observed at 12 or 24 weeks 14. Other interventions including Nivolumab 10, Toripalimab 20, and Cryo Spray Ablation 8 have been studied in this population.

Recent results — preliminary, needs further review

  • Lomvastomig did not show statistically significant improvements in Overall Survival (OS), Objective Response Rate (ORR), or Progression-free Survival (PFS) 3.
  • A study on biospecimen collection noted a 6.8% proportion of participants with a cardiac event at 12 months and an incidence of 6 late Grade 3+ adverse events 6.

For the clinician treating this condition

  • Pembrolizumab, Atezolizumab, and Tislelizumab have demonstrated statistically significant improvements in survival outcomes (OS/PFS) in various esophageal cancer cohorts.
  • Cisplatin showed significant improvements across multiple endpoints including OS, PFS, and ORR.
  • Carboplatin and Cetuximab did not show statistically significant improvements in their respective primary outcome measures.

AI synthesis of 13 cited trials, updated Jul 26, 2026. Informational only — not medical advice; trial data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. How we use AI.

HCP Mode — summaries include clinical detail, trial data, and statistical outcomes.
Patient Mode — summaries use plain language, avoiding clinical jargon.
Endoscopic resection followed by esophagectomy shows favorable recurrence-free and disease-specific survival in superficial esophageal cancer
Oncology Meta-analysis
Endoscopic resection followed by esophagectomy shows favorable recurrence-free and disease-specific survival in superficial esophageal cancer Combined endoscopic surgery and esophagectomy may improve cancer outcomes
This systematic review and network meta-analysis of 2,621 patients with high-risk superficial esophageal cancer found that endoscopic resect…
A new analysis suggests that combining endoscopic resection with surgery could help patients with high-risk esophageal cancer live longer wi…
Frontiers Jul 25, 2026
Epigallocatechin-3-gallate shows positive therapeutic effects on various digestive system diseases in animal models
Oncology Meta-analysis
Epigallocatechin-3-gallate shows positive therapeutic effects on various digestive system diseases in animal models Green tea compound shows potential for several digestive diseases
This meta-analysis of 63 preclinical studies involving 738 animals indicates that Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has a positive therapeut…
A review of animal studies suggests a green tea compound could help treat various cancers and digestive conditions.
Frontiers Jun 11, 2026
Conversion surgery after induction therapy improves 5-year survival to 26.5% versus 11.6% in cT4 esophageal cancer patients
ENT (Otolaryngology) Meta-analysis
Conversion surgery after induction therapy improves 5-year survival to 26.5% versus 11.6% in cT4 esophageal cancer patients Conversion surgery after induction therapy improves survival for advanced esophageal cancer patients
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates conversion surgery versus definitive therapy for patients with cT4 esophageal cancer. The…
Patients with advanced esophageal cancer who had conversion surgery lived significantly longer than those who received definitive therapy al…
Jun 6, 2026
Systematic review shows robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy reduces blood loss and hospital stay compared to conventional minimally invasive approaches for resectable esophageal cancer cases involving adult patients
Oncology Meta-analysis
Systematic review shows robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy reduces blood loss and hospital stay compared to conventional minimally invasive approaches for resectable esophageal cancer cases involving adult patients Robotic surgery offers shorter hospital stays for esophageal cancer patients
A systematic review of 13,321 patients indicates robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy offers perioperative benefits like reduced …
A large review found robotic surgery reduces blood loss and hospital time for esophageal cancer patients compared to standard minimally inva…
May 25, 2026
Age and comorbidity do not raise severe complication risk after minimally invasive esophagectomy
Oncology RCT
Age and comorbidity do not raise severe complication risk after minimally invasive esophagectomy Older esophageal cancer patients face no higher risk of severe complications with minimally invasive surgery
A secondary analysis of an RCT found that older age and higher comorbidity were not linked to more severe complications after minimally inva…
Analysis of 245 patients shows age and health conditions do not increase severe complication rates after minimally invasive esophagectomy.
May 16, 2026
Prolonged time-to-surgery after chemoradiotherapy improves preoperative quality of life in esophageal cancer
Oncology RCT
Prolonged time-to-surgery after chemoradiotherapy improves preoperative quality of life in esophageal cancer Waiting Longer for Esophageal Cancer Surgery Backfires Despite Feeling Better
This randomized controlled trial in patients with locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer compared prolonged (10-12 weeks) versus stan…
• Longer wait worsens cancer outcomes despite better pre-op quality of life • Helps patients facing surgery after chemoradiotherapy • Standa…
May 14, 2026
Meta-analysis shows neoadjuvant chemoradiation improves resection and survival outcomes for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients compared to chemotherapy alone
ENT (Otolaryngology) Meta-analysis
Meta-analysis shows neoadjuvant chemoradiation improves resection and survival outcomes for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients compared to chemotherapy alone Adding radiation before surgery helps some esophageal cancer patients get better surgery results and live longer
This meta-analysis of 2,174 patients reveals that adding radiation to chemotherapy significantly boosts resection rates and survival for squ…
A large review found that adding radiation to chemotherapy before surgery helped remove more tumors in certain cancer types. This approach a…
May 5, 2026
Meta-analysis of pucotenlimab shows improved outcomes across multiple solid tumors
Oncology Meta-analysis
Meta-analysis of pucotenlimab shows improved outcomes across multiple solid tumors New analysis shows pucotenlimab improves outcomes for several solid tumor types
This meta-analysis evaluated pucotenlimab (HX008) in patients with gastric, gastroesophageal junction, triple-negative breast cancer, melano…
A new analysis of pucotenlimab shows significantly improved outcomes versus control for patients with gastric cancer, triple-negative breast…
May 1, 2026
Structured perioperative rehabilitation reduces postoperative pneumonia in esophageal cancer patients
Primary Care & Family Medicine Meta-analysis
Structured perioperative rehabilitation reduces postoperative pneumonia in esophageal cancer patients Lung Problems After Esophagus Surgery Drop Sharply With This Approach
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated 37 studies involving postoperative patients with esophageal cancer receiving structured p…
Starting rehab before esophageal cancer surgery and continuing it afterward may sharply lower the risk of dangerous lung infections.
Frontiers Apr 16, 2026

Questions about Esophageal Cancer

Do older age or other health issues increase complications after surgery for Esophageal Cancer?

While older age and other health issues are often associated with higher risks in open surgeries, research suggests they may not increase the risk of severe complications for patients undergoing minimally invasive esophagectomy.

Full answer →
Does robot-assisted esophagectomy reduce blood loss and hospital stays for Esophageal Cancer?

Yes, robot-assisted esophagectomy reduces blood loss and hospital stays compared to conventional minimally invasive approaches for esophageal cancer, based on systematic reviews.

Full answer →
Does conversion surgery improve survival rates for patients with cT4 Esophageal Cancer?

Yes, conversion surgery after induction therapy significantly improves survival for cT4 esophageal cancer, with 5-year survival of 26.5% vs 11.6% for definitive therapy alone.

Full answer →
Does EGCG have therapeutic effects on digestive system diseases like Esophageal Cancer?

EGCG shows promise against esophageal cancer in lab and animal studies, and a human trial found it reduced radiation-induced esophagitis, but more clinical research is needed.

Full answer →