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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment
Published on: April 22, 2019
Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy Versus Standard Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell
Yong Ao1, Changsen Leng1,2, Junying Chen1,2
1Department of Thoracic Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Background:
The long-term survival outcomes of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy (NCIT) compared with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LA-ESCC) remain unclear.
Methods:
Patients with LA-ESCC who underwent curative esophagectomy after receiving either NCRT or NCIT between June 2007 and December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients in the NCRT group received a uniform regimen of vinorelbine and cisplatin with concurrent radiotherapy, whereas those in the NCIT group received a PD-1 inhibitor combined with chemotherapy. Pathologic outcomes, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared between the groups before and after application of inverse probability of treatment-weighting (IPTW).
Results:
Overall, 462 patients were included (232 with NCIT; 230 with NCRT). The median follow-up period was 51.5 months (interquartile range, 33.0-87.0 months). The IPTW-adjusted analyses showed higher 3-year OS with NCIT versus NCRT (79.7 vs 68.2%; hazard ratio [HR] 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28-0.91; P = 0.023). Multiple sensitivity analyses yielded consistent results. The 3-year DFS did not differ significantly between the two groups (73.9 vs 62.7%; HR, 0.65; 95% CI 0.40-1.05; P = 0.076). Pathologic complete response rates were comparable (NCIT, 33.6% vs NCRT, 41.0%; P = 0.229). Within 2 years postoperatively, NCIT had lower rates of overall recurrence (15.8 vs 28.8; P = 0.033) and distant metastases (6.6 vs 17.0%, P = 0.006) than NCRT, whereas the locoregional recurrence rate was similar (8.7 vs 11.8%; P = 0.592).
Conclusions:
In this retrospective cohort of selected patients with LA-ESCC who completed neoadjuvant therapy and underwent curative resection, NCIT was associated with better OS than NCRT.
