In a recent study presented at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Annual Meeting, researchers reported that more than 75% of patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) were still alive and event-free at 1 year. The treatment was also well-tolerated, with a manageable rate of side effects.
The 1-year event-free survival rate was 78.3%, and the 1-year overall survival rate was 88.0%. The postoperative complication rate was 35.6%, and the rate of grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events was 18.1%. The most common side effects were leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, and hyperglycemia.
Overall, the results of this study suggest that neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with an ICI is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with resectable esophageal cancer. The treatment was associated with a high rate of pCR and R0 resection, and the side effects were generally manageable.