Objective To investigate the necessity of further surgery for patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma following treatment with the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor combined with chemotherapy, and to assess its impact on survival. MethodsPatients with stage ⅡA to ⅢB esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who received immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy at our hospital from January 2020 to June 2022 were selected for this study. Based on whether they underwent surgery after receiving PD-1 inhibitor combined with chemotherapy, patients were divided into a surgery group and a non-surgery group. We compared the general clinical data, side effects, clinical complete response rates, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) between the two groups. Results A total of 58 patients were included in the study, comprising 45 males and 13 females, with an average age of (65.5±6.9) years. There were no statistical differences in general clinical data or adverse reactions between the two groups. Univariate analysis revealed that the objective response rate and surgery were significantly associated with PFS (P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that surgery was the only independent risk factor for PFS (P=0.003). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the PFS and OS in the surgery group were significantly higher than those in the non-surgery group (HR=0.13, 95%CI 0.036 to 0.520, P＜0.001; HR=0.17, 95%CI 0.045 to 0.680, P=0.004). ConclusionAfter treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor combined with chemotherapy, patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma still require surgical intervention to achieve improved PFS and OS.
Objective To observe the short-term efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant sintilimab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with locally advanced resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). MethodsClinical data were collected from patients with locally advanced resectable ESCC who received neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy followed by surgical treatment at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Jining First People's Hospital from April 2020 to April 2022. The endpoints included major pathological response (MPR), pathological complete response (pCR), R0 resection rate, safety, and postoperative survival. Results A total of 43 patients with ESCC who received at least one cycle of neoadjuvant immunotherapy before surgery were included. Among them, there were 31 males and 12 females, aged from 46 to 77 years, with a median age of 65 years. All patients successfully completed the surgery without any surgical delays. The pCR rate was 14.0% (6/43), the MPR rate was 58.1% (25/43), and the R0 resection rate was 97.7% (42/43). Patients exhibited reliable safety during neoadjuvant therapy and postoperatively. The 2-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 90.7% and 81.4%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test revealed lower recurrence rates and better survival in the MPR group compared to the non-MPR group. Conclusion The combination of neoadjuvant sintilimab and chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with locally advanced resectable ESCC has demonstrated significant clinical efficacy, while also being safe and reliable.
Surgery is the preferred treatment for resectable esophageal cancer, but in locally advanced esophageal cancer, the effect of surgery alone is not ideal, so surgery-based comprehensive treatment is the best option. Neoadjuvant therapy has become a standard treatment in the treatment of locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer. Neoadjuvant therapy includes neoadjuvant chemotherapy, radiochemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, etc. With the significant efficacy and acceptable toxicity of immunotherapy in the first-line and second-line treatment of advanced esophageal cancer, neoadjuvant immunotherapy has become a research hotspot of locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer. This article reviews the latest research progress and some limitations of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer.
Esophageal cancer is one of the malignant tumors that poses a threat to human health, with both high incidence and malignancy. Currently, surgery following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for locally advanced esophageal cancer; however, the long-term prognosis remains unsatisfactory. In recent years, inhibitors of programmed death protein-1 (PD-1) and its ligand (programmed death ligand-1, PD-L1) have achieved breakthrough progress in other solid tumors, and research on esophageal cancer is gradually being conducted. With the demonstration of good efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the first-line and second-line treatment of advanced unresectable esophageal cancer, their incorporation into neoadjuvant treatment regimens has become a hot topic. Therefore, this article reviews the mechanism of action of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and their application in the neoadjuvant treatment of esophageal cancer.
Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MethodsThe clinical data of patients with stage ⅡA-ⅢB NSCLC who underwent surgical treatment after receiving neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone at the First People’s Hospital of Jining between April 2021 and January 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the preoperative neoadjuvant regimens, the patients were divided into a combined group and a chemotherapy group, and the clinical data of the two groups were compared. ResultsA total of 66 patients were included, including 61 males and 5 females. There were 53 patients in the combined group with a mean age of (63.40±6.80) years, and 13 patients in the chemotherapy group with a mean age of (58.62±8.30) years. There was a statistical difference in age between the two groups (P＜0.001), while no statistical difference was observed in other baseline data (P>0.05). The major pathological response rates in the combined group and the chemotherapy group were 54.7% and 23.1%, respectively (P=0.041), and the pathological complete response rates were 39.6% and 0.0%, respectively (P=0.006). The operative time in the combined group was shorter (P=0.039). There were no statistical differences between the two groups in intraoperative blood loss, duration of postoperative tube carrying, incidence of postoperative complications, overall survival, or event-free survival (P>0.05). ConclusionSurgical treatment following neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy is safe and feasible, and its long-term efficacy requires further follow-up for confirmation.
