Panitumumab, Docetaxel, Cisplatin, Radiation Therapy, and Surgery in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed, Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer or Cancer of the Gastroesophageal Junction

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as panitumumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and docetaxel, work in different ways to kill tumor cells or stop them from growing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving combination chemotherapy together with panitumumab and radiation therapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed.

PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving panitumumab together with docetaxel, cisplatin, radiation therapy, and surgery works in treating patients with newly diagnosed, locally advanced esophageal cancer or cancer of the gastroesophageal junction.