Clinical outcomes and short-term survival of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy for resectable esophageal cancer: a multicenter retrospective cohort study

Objective:The present retrospective cohort study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy for resectable esophageal cancer and report the preliminary short-term survival.Methods:A multicenter, retrospective study was conducted concerning patients who received neoadjuvant PD-1 agents plus platinum-based chemotherapy between January 2019 and January 2022. The primary endpoint was the tumor pathologic complete response (pCR) rate.Results:Two hundred and thirteen patients with initial stage cI-IVA esophageal cancer who received neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy were identified. The complete tumor resection(R0) rate was 99.1%. The pCR rate was 31.9%, and the overall major pathological response rate was 49.8%. The 2-year DFS rate was 78.9% (95% CI: 72.9-85.4%) and the 2-years OS rate was 80.9% (95% CI: 75.3-86.9%). The incidence of TRAEs and surgical complications rate were 68.5 and 35.2%, respectively.Conclusion:The PD-1 agents combined with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant treatment for resectable stage I-IVA esophageal cancer had a high pCR rate as well as good short-term survival benefits and tolerable toxicity.