Participants in this study will have esophageal cancer that has spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body either at initial diagnosis (synchronous) or after the cancer returned following treatment (recurrent).
In Alberta, the current standard approach for treating esophageal cancer that has metastasized is to first give patients radiation to the main tumor in the esophagus to relieve symptoms. After that, they receive a combination of chemotherapy drugs (either CAPOX or FOLFOX) chosen by their doctor, along with immunotherapy drugs like Pembrolizumab or Nivolumab to fight the cancer.
The study intends to add a treatment called stereotactic body radiation treatment (SBRT), which uses very high doses of radiation in a few sessions, to target small tumors which remain after the standard treatment.
The goal of this study is to see if adding SBRT to chemotherapy and immunotherapy helps patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent esophageal cancer that has metastasized to a few other places. The study aims to improve survival and control the disease better.