Open AccessImmuno-oncology for esophageal cancer
Author(s) -
Shun Yamamoto,
Ken Kato
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
future oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.857
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1744-8301
pISSN - 1479-6694
DOI - 10.2217/fon-2020-0545
Subject(s) - medicine , pembrolizumab , nivolumab , taxane , oncology , chemotherapy , esophageal cancer , docetaxel , gemcitabine , cancer , immunotherapy , breast cancer
Esophageal cancer (EC) is the seventh most common cancer, with a poor prognosis for metastatic EC patients and limited effective drugs for treatment. Nivolumab and pembrolizumab, monoclonal antibodies that inhibit interactions of PD-1 and its ligand (PD-L1), which induce lymphocyte activation, have antitumor activity. The ATTRACTION-3 trial compared nivolumab with taxane after first-line chemotherapy and demonstrated superior overall survival (OS) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The KEYNOTE-181 trial that compared pembrolizumab with chemotherapy demonstrated superior OS for EC with a PD-L1 combined positive score ≥10. Trials to evaluate efficacy of combined cytotoxic agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) as first-line chemotherapies, ICI-containing chemoradiotherapy, and pre/postoperative chemotherapy are ongoing and might provide important data to improve clinical outcomes.