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Condition (MeSH)

Esophageal Neoplasms

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 2,308 trials for Esophageal Neoplasms or a narrower condition beneath it. National Cancer Institute (NCI) has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 48.

MeSH D004938 Neoplasms Neoplasm C04 C06
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Phase 1 Phase 1 311 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 164 Phase 2 Phase 2 680 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 31 Phase 3 Phase 3 162 Phase 4 Phase 4 30 Not applicable Not applicable 427 Observational Observational 501 Phase 1 Phase 1 311 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 164 Phase 2 Phase 2 680 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 31 Phase 3 Phase 3 162 Phase 4 Phase 4 30 Not applicable Not applicable 427 Observational Observational 501

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

1,838 of the 2,308 trials are tagged with Esophageal Neoplasms itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Esophageal Neoplasms report as a PDF

The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Esophageal Neoplasms trials start? (34)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year. 3 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational

Top of scale: 176

1992: 2 trials (Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 1994: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 1 1) 1995: 8 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 3) 1996: 6 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2) 1997: 9 trials (Phase 3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 3) 1998: 14 trials (Observational 3, Phase 2 6, Phase 1 5) 1999: 13 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 2, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 2000: 30 trials (Observational 4, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 17, Phase 1 6) 2001: 25 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 5) 2002: 27 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 12, Phase 1 3) 2003: 28 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 6) 2004: 36 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 4, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 18, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 7) 2005: 33 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 5) 2006: 43 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 9, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 7) 2007: 56 trials (Observational 16, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 8) 2008: 50 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 18, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 6) 2009: 54 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 16, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 4) 2010: 47 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 8, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 7) 2011: 59 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 9, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 24, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 5) 2012: 58 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 13, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 7) 2013: 57 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 15, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 6) 2014: 73 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 15, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 13) 2015: 81 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 16, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 9) 2016: 96 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 22, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 12) 2017: 114 trials (Observational 25, Not applicable 24, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 32, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 13) 2018: 104 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 28, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 11) 2019: 118 trials (Observational 26, Not applicable 23, Phase 3 9, Phase 2 35, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 18) 2020: 140 trials (Observational 35, Not applicable 30, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 11, Phase 2 37, Phase 1/2 8, Phase 1 18) 2021: 130 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 33, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 6, Phase 2 34, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 16) 2022: 149 trials (Observational 40, Not applicable 32, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 34, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 15) 2023: 160 trials (Observational 41, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 38, Phase 1/2 18, Phase 1 28) 2024: 176 trials (Observational 38, Not applicable 36, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 62, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 17) 2025: 164 trials (Observational 36, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 52, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 28)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 133
2025 164
2024 176
2023 160
2022 149
2021 130
2020 140
2019 118
2018 104
2017 114

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 160 trials starting in 2026 and about 170 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 13 percent and ran about 12 percent low against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 19 percent and ran about 17 percent low against the count later registered, and had about the same error as repeating last year's count. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 36 months from start to primary completion across 359 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 36 months across 1,072 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Esophageal Neoplasms trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 311
Phase 1/2 164
Phase 2 680
Phase 2/3 31
Phase 3 162
Phase 4 30
Not applicable 427
Observational 501
Expanded access 2

How many Esophageal Neoplasms trials are recruiting? (11)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 138
Recruiting 444
Enrolling by invitation 19
Active, not recruiting 123
Available 1

Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which lead sponsors run the most Esophageal Neoplasms trials? (2)

Shown in this order: most trials first. Lead sponsors the registry classes as industry, NIH, US federal, other government or network. A hospital or university the registry files as government can appear here. Sponsors it classes as academic or other are shown on the full page, because that class cannot separate an institution from a named investigator.

Lead sponsors
Sponsor Trials
National Cancer Institute (NCI) 48
Henan Cancer Hospital 21

Which drugs are being tested for Esophageal Neoplasms? (7)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
(nab)-paclitaxel 123
OXALIPLATIN 83
PEMBROLIZUMAB 75
Irinotecan 69
"Capecitabine" 55

Interventions as named in the registry (8)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Cisplatin 1 153
Fluorouracile 126
Radiation Therapy 76
Radiotherapy 75
or carboplatin 70

These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Esophageal Neoplasms trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
Pneumonia 572 57
Vomiting 392 87
Nausea 374 73
Dehydration 370 80
Dysphagia 361 71

Which publications cover Esophageal Neoplasms? (2,254)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Sub-conditions in MeSH (1)

MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: prevalence and rare-disease identity.

Browse all condition evidence pages