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Updated: Dec 12, 2025

Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment
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Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment

Published on: April 22, 2019

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Immuno-oncology for esophageal cancer

Shun Yamamoto1, Ken Kato1

  • 1Department of Head & Neck Medical Oncology/Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Future Oncology (London, England)
|August 12, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Immune checkpoint inhibitors like nivolumab and pembrolizumab show promise for advanced esophageal cancer. These therapies improve overall survival in specific patient groups, offering new treatment avenues.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Immunotherapy

Background:

  • Esophageal cancer (EC) has a poor prognosis, especially in metastatic stages, with limited treatment options.
  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1/PD-L1 pathways demonstrate antitumor activity by activating lymphocytes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in esophageal cancer treatment.
  • To highlight the impact of PD-1 inhibitors on overall survival (OS) in esophageal cancer patients.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of clinical trial data, including the ATTRACTION-3 and KEYNOTE-181 trials.
  • Comparison of ICI efficacy against standard treatments like taxane and chemotherapy.

Main Results:

  • The ATTRACTION-3 trial showed superior OS for nivolumab versus taxane in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
  • The KEYNOTE-181 trial demonstrated superior OS for pembrolizumab in EC with PD-L1 expression (≥10).

Conclusions:

  • Nivolumab and pembrolizumab offer improved survival for specific esophageal cancer populations.
  • Ongoing trials are investigating combination therapies and neoadjuvant/adjuvant approaches with ICIs for better clinical outcomes.
Keywords:
atezolizumabesophageal cancerimmune checkpoint inhibitornivolumabpembrolizumabtislelizumab

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