Little is known concerning the role of concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) in the management of carcinoma of the cervical esophagus. We retrospectively evaluated our treatment approach for patients with cervical esophageal cancer with special emphasis on CCRT with or without surgery. Medical records of 21 consecutive patients with cervical esophageal carcinoma treated mainly with CCRT (1997-2004) were reviewed, and factors that influenced patient survival were analyzed retrospectively. Nineteen received CCRT with cisplatin/5-fluorouracil and five underwent curative surgery. Two patients who were deemed unfit for CCRT received radiation therapy alone. All had three-dimensional treatment planning (median total dose, 40 Gy with surgery, 64 Gy without surgery). Of the 19 patients who received CCRT, 11 patients including five who underwent curative surgery achieved initial local control. Neither of the two patients who received radiation therapy alone achieved local control. Among 19 patients who underwent CCRT, 9/11 with T1-3 grade tumors achieved initial local control, but only 2/8 patients with T4 tumors (P = 0.011, chi(2) test) achieved initial local control. No patient without initial local control survived > 20 months compared with 2-year and 5-year survival rates of 60% and 40% in those who achieved initial local control (P = 0.038). No patient with T4 tumors survived > 18 months, whereas 2- and 5-year survival rates were 62% and 41%, respectively, in those with T1-3 tumors (P = 0.006). The significant effect of T-classification on survival was maintained when analyzed among 19 patients who received CCRT. CCRT shows promise for cervical esophageal carcinoma. T-classification and initial local control had significant impact on survival.