Inclusion Criteria:

- age < 75 years

- absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 x 109 / L

- platelet count > 100 x 109 / L

- creatinine clearance > 50 ml / min

- bilirubin < 1.5x upper limit normal

- FEV1 > 1.0 L

- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2

- negative serum / urine pregnancy test for females of childbearing age

- no previous primary / recurrent malignancy in last 5 years

- no previous chemotherapy for esophageal cancer

- no previous radiation therapy that would overlap required radiation fields

- no major systemic illness(es) that would limit life expectancy <2 years

- no psychiatric / cognitive illness that would limit ability to give informed consent

- cT1N1 or T2-3Nx; M0 by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7th Edition staging
classification(36)

- proximal portion of the tumor at least 20 cm from the incisors on endoscopy, and
extend no greater than 2 cm into the gastric cardia

- tumor length < 8cm; radial size < 5 cm