Brief Summary: A consistent finding in many studies in patients with operable esophageal and gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ) cancer is that response to preoperative therapy, particularly the absence of residual disease in the surgical specimen, is an indicator of better disease-free and overall survival. Therefore in the investigators trial the investigators will evaluate the pathologic response of panitumumab in combination with neoadjuvant chemoradiation as first line treatment of operable adenocarcinomas, undifferentiated or squamous cell carcinomas of the esophagus.

Detailed Description: This is a Phase II, non-randomized trial. Eligible subjects will be treated with panitumumab plus carboplatin, paclitaxel and radiotherapy followed by surgical resection of the esophagus. Panitumumab administration schedule: Panitumumab will be administered as a 60-minute ± 15 minutes IV infusion, prior to administration of chemotherapy at a dose of 6 mg/kg on day 1, 15 and 29. If the first infusion is well tolerated (without any serious infusion related reactions) all subsequent infusions may be administered over 30 minutes ± 10 minutes. Chemotherapy regimen: Paclitaxel 50 mg/m2 and Carboplatin AUC = 2 will be given by intravenous infusion on days 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. Both drugs will be infused over one hour. Radiotherapy treatment: A total dose of 41.4 Gy will be given in 23 fractions of 1.8 Gy, 5 fractions per week, starting the first day of the first cycle of chemotherapy. All patients will be radiated by external beam radiation, using 3-D conformal radiation technique. Surgery: Surgery will be performed preferably within 6 weeks after the completion of the chemoradiation and panitumumab. For carcinomas distal of the tracheal bifurcation but proximal to the gastro-esophageal junction, a transthoracic approach is preferred. For distal tumors involving the gastro-esophageal junction a transhiatal esophageal resection is preferred. A wide local excision including the N1 lymph nodes is carried out in both techniques including a standard excision of the lymph nodes around the coeliac axis. The continuity of the digestive tract will be restored by a gastric tube reconstruction or colonic interposition procedure with an anastomosis in the neck.