Docetaxel, Oxaliplatin, Capecitabine, Fluorouracil, and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Cancer of the Esophagus or Gastroesophageal Junction

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess and compare the pathologic complete response (PCR) rate of patients in Arm A receiving the sequence docetaxel, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine (DOC) followed by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin, and radiation therapy (RT) with patients in Arm B receiving only 5-FU, oxaliplatin and RT in patients with potentially resectable adenocarcinoma (ACA) of the esophagus, gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), or gastric cardia. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess the adverse event (AE) profile and safety of the proposed treatment in this population. II. To assess and compare the overall survival (OS) between treatment arms. III. To assess and compare the disease-free survival between treatment arms. IV. To assess and compare the clinical tumor response rate of the proposed regiments when administered before surgery between treatment arms. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. ARM I: Patients receive docetaxel intravenously (IV) over 1 hour and oxaliplatin IV over 2 hours on day 1. Patients also receive capecitabine orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 1-14. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 2 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of the second course, patients receive fluorouracil\* IV continuously on days 1-5 and oxaliplatin IV over 2 hours on days 1, 15, and 29. Patients also undergo radiotherapy\*\* 5 days a week for 5.5 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Approximately 4-12 weeks after completion of radiotherapy, patients undergo surgery. ARM II: Patients receive fluorouracil IV continuously on days 1-5 and oxaliplatin IV over 2 hours on days 1, 15, and 29. Patients also undergo radiotherapy and then surgery as in Arm I. * NOTE: \* Fluorouracil continuous IV infusion begins within 24 hours of radiotherapy and ends within 24 hours of radiotherapy completion. * NOTE: \*\* Radiotherapy should begin within 2-6 weeks after completion of 2 courses of docetaxel, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 2 years.