Abstract
Background: Patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have a poor prognosis with few treatment options. Immunotherapy was suggested as a promising treatment for ESCC from some clinical trials. Here we collected clinical results from 23 patients who were received anti-PD1/PDL1 antibodies (mAbs) plus chemotherapy as first line therapy with advanced ESCC, to analyze this combined therapy’s efficacy on advanced ESCC. Methods: Results of 23 Patients started treatment from December 15th, 2017 to September 27th, 2019 (12 patients were enrolled in phase II clinical trials, 11 patients were treated by physician’s choice regiment) of anti-PD1/PDL1 antibodies (mAbs) plus chemotherapy on advanced ESCC as first line treatment were collected. Regiments were either anti-PD1 or anti-PDL1 mAbs plus traditional chemotherapy (cisplatin/5-fluorouracil (5-FU), Paclitaxel/ cisplatin, Paclitaxel/carboplatin or Paclitaxel/ 5-FU) every 3 weeks for six cycles, followed by maintenance therapy with anti-PD1/PDL1 mAbs. Objective response and safety profiles were observed as well as progression-free survival(PFS), overall survival(OS) and duration of response. Results: Of the 23 patients, 18 (78.3%) responded to treatment: 15 partial and 3 complete response. 4 patients had stable disease and 1 patient had progressive disease. The median time to response was 1.4 months (range, 1.4 months – 2.8 months). Treatment-related adverse events occurred in all patients but 3-4 grade immune-mediated adverse events occurred in only one patient. As of April 10th, 2020, the Objective response rate was 78.3%, the median PFS was 15.5 months and the median OS was 21.5 months. No treatment-related deaths were observed. Conclusions: Anti-PD1/PDL1 antibodies plus chemotherapy as the first-line treatment for advanced ESCC showed promising results with manageable adverse events and worthy of further study.
Safety and efficacy of tislelizumab plus chemotherapy for first‐line treatment of advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma
