Immunotherapy with or without radiotherapy for metastatic or recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A real-world study.

Abstract

Background and purpose:

To evaluate the efficiency and safety of immunotherapy combined with or without radiotherapy (RT) for metastatic or recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed data of 127 patients with metastatic or recurrent ESCC, who received immunotherapy with or without RT at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute between 2017 and 2021.

Results:

The median follow-up time was 15.7 months (95 % confidence interval (CI): 12.42-18.99). The median PFS of the RT and NRT groups was 5.45 months (95 % CI: 2.89-8.28) and 4.60 months (95 % CI: 3.75-7.06), respectively (P = 0.660). The median OS was 11.9 (95 % CI: 8.61-19.2) and 10.3 (95 % CI: 7.56-15.8) months, respectively (P = 0.890). The median PFS of locoregional recurrence patients in the RT and NRT groups was 11.27 months (95 % CI: 2.45-20.09) and 4.17 months (95 % CI: 2.64-5.71), respectively (P = 0.081). The median OS of locoregional recurrent patients in the RT and NRT groups was 19.48 months (95 % CI: 8.37-30.60) and 7.69 months (95 % CI: 3.45-11.93), respectively (P = 0.026). 64 % of patients in the RT group and 30 % of patients in the NRT group experienced an improvement in dysphagia (P = 0.033). No significant increase in treatment-related toxicity was observed in the RT group compared with the NRT group, except for some hematological complications.

Conclusions:

Locoregional recurrent patients gained survival benefits from immunotherapy combined with RT. The combination of immunotherapy and RT was safe in metastatic/recurrent ESCC patients. RT for the esophagus leads to the improvement of dysphagia compared to immunotherapy alone.

• Authors: Xiaoyue Wu, Yanqi Li, Kunning Zhang, Zhoubo Guo, Yang Li, Fangdong Zhao, Tian Zhang, Xi Chen, Hui Wei, Wencheng Zhang, Ping Wang, Qingsong Pang
• Journal: Clinical and translational radiation oncology (Clin Transl Radiat Oncol) Vol. 38 Pg. 130-137 (Jan 2023) ISSN: 2405-6308 [Electronic] Ireland
• PMID: 36425536 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2022 The Authors.