We compared retrospectively carboplatin/paclitaxel to cisplatinum/5-FU as dCRT treatment in esophageal cancer patients. We found comparable outcome, but lower toxicity rates and higher treatment compliance in the carboplatin/paclitaxel group. Therefore, we suggest carboplatin/paclitaxel as an alternative for cisplatinum/5-FU is a good candidate for further evaluation.In esophageal cancer (EC) patients who are not eligible for surgery, definitive chemoradiation (dCRT) with curative intent using cisplatinum with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is the standard chemotherapy regimen. Nowadays carboplatin/paclitaxel is also often used. In this study, we compared survival and toxicity rates between both regimens. This multicenter study included 102 patients treated in five centers in the Northeast Netherlands from 1996 till 2008. Forty-seven patients received cisplatinum/5-FU (75 mg/m(2) and 1 g/m(2)) and 55 patients carboplatin/paclitaxel (AUC2 and 50 mg/m(2)). Overall survival (OS) was not different between the cisplatinum/5-FU and carboplatin/paclitaxel group