Conversion surgery following immunochemotherapy for initially unresectable/recurrent esophageal cancer

Conversion surgery (CS) after immunochemotherapy is a potential treatment option for patients with initially unresectable or recurrent esophageal cancer. However, the safety, pathological response, and oncological outcomes remain insufficiently defined.

This retrospective analysis included 36 consecutive patients who underwent CS after receiving a median 3 (range 2-7) cycles of induction immunochemotherapy for cStage IV or recurrent esophageal cancer between 2022 and 2025. We assessed the clinical response, perioperative outcomes, pathological findings, and survival.

Patients received a median of 3 cycles (range 2-7) of immunochemotherapy. Treatment-related adverse events were generally manageable, with neutropenia being the most common (55.6%), followed by hyponatremia (19.4%) and anemia (19.4%). The clinical response rate was 80.6%, and R0 resection was achieved in 94.4% of patients. All cM1 cases (n = 24) except one underwent minimally invasive subtotal esophagectomy with two-field (n = 11) or three-field (n = 17) lymphadenectomy. Postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade II or higher) occurred in 63.4%, most frequently pneumonia (27.8%) and disorder of sputum expectoration (13.9%); neither postoperative immune-related morbidity nor 90-day mortality/readmission were observed. The rate of pathological complete response in the primary tumor was 27.6%, whereas clinical complete response/pathological complete response rates at metastatic sites were 46.4/56.6% in regional nodes, 65.0/26.1% in distant nodes, and 100/66.7% in distant organ lesions.

CS following immunochemotherapy is feasible and safe in selected patients with cStage IV or recurrent esophageal cancer. The long-term prognostic significance of CS remains to be determined and will require further studies.