Study population
Tumors
ONCOLOGY, MENINGEAL METASTASES, TUMORS
The phase II study was performed in two institutions (Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital and The First people's Hospital of Yancheng, China) between January 2016 and December 2020, registered in To be eligible for the study, patients must meet the following criteria: (i) confirmation of ESCC diagnosis by biopsy; (ii) between 18 and 75 years of age; (iii) a performance status of ≤2 as determined by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; (iv) the presence of at least one measurable lesion determined by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 criteria; (v) failure of the first‐line chemotherapy combination of fluorouracil or platinum or paclitaxel; (vi) The patients had not undergone chemotherapy with irinotecan or raltitrexed previously; (vii) The patients had sufficient hematologic, renal, and hepatic function, as evidenced by an absolute neutrophil count greater than 1.5 × 109/l, a platelet count greater than 80 × 109/l, a total bilirubin level less than or equal to 1.5 × upper limit of normal, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase levels less than or equal to 2 × upper limit of normal, and a creatinine level less than or equal to 1.5 mg/dL. The criteria for exclusion: (i) no pathological diagnosis; (ii) previous chemotherapy with irinotecan or raltitrexed; (iii) cerebral or meningeal metastases.