Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy and Chemoradiotherapy Followed by Surgery for Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Effective systemic therapy such as nivolumab as an adjuvant therapy has been demonstrated to improve the outcomes of patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locoregional esophageal cancer. A more effective systemic therapy with anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) plus cisplatin-based doublet chemotherapy, which has shown with high tumor response rate and improved survivals in patients with late-stage ESCC, may provide crucial benefit to patients with locally advanced disease by improving the systemic control, downstaging the locoregional tumor burden and reducing recurrence and metastasis.

Collectively, the investigators hypothesize that total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) approach-consisting of induction immunochemotherapy followed by CRT-is a promising strategy to enhance the outcomes for participants with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.