Testing the Addition of an Anti-cancer Drug, Adavosertib, to Radiation Therapy for Patients With Incurable Esophageal and Gastroesophageal Junction Cancers

Exclusion Criteria

• •Age \>= 18 years. Because no dosing or adverse event data are currently available on the use of AZD1775 in combination with radiation therapy in patients \< 18 years of age, children are excluded from this study
• •Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1 (Karnofsky \>= 70%)
• •Leukocytes \>= 3,000/mcL
• •Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/mcL
• •Hemoglobin \>= 9 g/dL
• •Platelets \>= 100,000/mcL
• •Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN)
• •Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 3 x institutional ULN
• •Creatinine =\< 1.5 x institutional ULN OR
• •Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) \>= 60 mL /min/1.73 m\^2 unless data exists supporting safe use at lower kidney function values, no lower than 30 mL/min/1.73 m\^2
• •For patients with evidence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the HBV viral load must be undetectable on suppressive therapy, if indicated
• •Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 3 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to starting study therapy
• •Patients who have not recovered from adverse events due to prior anti-cancer therapy (i.e., have residual toxicities \> grade 1) with the exception of alopecia
• •Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents
• •History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to AZD1775
• •Patients receiving any medications or substances that are strong inhibitors or inducers of CYP3A4 are ineligible. Because the lists of these agents are constantly changing, it is important to regularly consult a frequently-updated medical reference. As part of the enrollment/informed consent procedures, the patient will be counseled on the risk of interactions with other agents, and what to do if new medications need to be prescribed or if the patient is considering a new over-the-counter medicine or herbal product
• •Patients with uncontrolled intercurrent illness
• •Patients with psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
• •Pregnant women are excluded from this study because AZD1775 is a WEE1 inhibiting agent with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with AZD1775, breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with AZD1775. These potential risks may also apply to other agents used in this study
• •Prior thoracic or abdominal radiation therapy for cancer that would result in significant overlap of radiation therapy fields at the discretion of the investigator
• •Patients with congenital long QT syndrome or with a history of Torsades de pointes unless all risk factors contributed to Torsades have been corrected. AZD1775 has not been studied in patients with ventricular arrhythmias or recent myocardial infarction
• •Eligibility of subjects receiving any medications or substances with the potential to affect the activity or pharmacokinetics of AZD1775 will be determined following review by the principal investigator