Perioperative outcomes of neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective comparative cohort study

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is recommended as the preferred treatment for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Recent studies have shown that immune checkpoint inhibitors are beneficial in treating advanced esophageal cancer. Therefore, a growing number of clinical centers are conducting trials of neoadjuvant immunotherapy or neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy (nICT) in patients with locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer. Immunocheckpoint inhibitors are expected to play a role in neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer. However, there were few studies comparing nICT with nCRT. This study compared the efficacy and safety of nICT with that of nCRT administered prior to esophagectomy in patients with resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: The study included patients with locally advanced resectable ESCC who were scheduled to receive neoadjuvant therapy at Gaozhou People’s Hospital from January 1, 2019, to September 1, 2022. The enrolled patients were divided into 2 groups (nCRT or nICT) according to their neoadjuvant therapy regimen. The 2 groups were compared for their baseline data, the incidence of adverse events during neoadjuvant therapy, the clinical evaluation after neoadjuvant therapy, perioperative indicators, and the incidence of postoperative complications and postoperative pathological remission. RESULTS: A total of 44 patients were enrolled; 23 in the nCRT group and 21 in the nICT group. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in the baseline data. In the nCRT group, leukopenia occurred more often than in the nICT group, and hemoglobin-decreasing events were rarer (P=0.03<0.05). A significantly higher proportion of patients in the nICT group experienced erythema following neoadjuvant therapy compared to the nCRT group (23.81% vs. 0%; P=0.01<0.05). Neoadjuvant therapy showed no significant difference between the 2 groups for adverse event rates, surgery-related indicators, postoperative pathological remission rates, and postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: nICT was a safe and feasible treatment for locally advanced ESCC and it may be a potential new treatment modality.