A phase II study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced carcinoma of the esophagus. Fifty-four patients with clinical T4 and/or M1 LYM squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus were enrolled. Patients received protracted infusions of fluorouracil 400 mg/m2/24 hours on days 1 to 5 and 8 to 12, 2-hour infusions of cisplatin 40 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, and concurrent radiotherapy at a dose of 30 Gy in 15 fractions over 3 weeks. Filgrastim was prophylactically administered to 35 patients. This schedule was repeated twice every 5 weeks, for a total radiation dose of 60 Gy followed by two courses of fluorouracil (800 mg/m2/24 hours for 5 days) and cisplatin (80 mg/m2 on day 1). There were 36 patients with T4 disease and 33 with M1 LYM. Forty-nine patients (91%) completed the chemoradiotherapy segment. The 18 patients (33%) who achieved a complete response included nine (25%) of the 36 with T4 disease and nine (50%) of the 18 with non-T4 disease. Major toxicities were leukopenia and esophagitis; there were four (7%) treatment-related deaths. Prophylactic filgrastim reduced the incidence of grade 3 or worse leukopenia without improving dose-intensity or response. With a median follow-up duration of 43 months, median survival time was 9 months. The 3-year survival rate was 23%. Despite its significant toxicity, this combined modality seemed to have curative potential even in cases of locally advanced carcinoma of the esophagus.