Effectiveness, safety, and patterns of use of camrelizumab in advanced esophageal cancer: an individual patient data pooled analysis of 987 patients from three prospective cohort studies.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This individual patient data pooled analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and patterns of use of camrelizumab in a large cohort of advanced esophageal cancer (AEC) patients.

APPROACH AND RESULTS

Adult patients (≥ 18 years) who had received camrelizumab as part of AEC treatment were pooled from three independent, prospective observational cohort studies (NCT04616040, ChiCTR1900027275, and ChiCTR2000039499). The main outcomes were patterns of camrelizumab use, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety in the overall population and specific subgroups of underrepresented patients. Among 987 patients, 450 (45.6%) received camrelizumab in the first line, 398 (40.3%) in the second line, and 139 (14.1%) in the third line or later. Most (69.7%) patients received camrelizumab plus chemotherapy regardless of treatment lines. The median PFS was 9.9 (95% CI 7.4, 14.4), 6.6 (95% CI 5.1, 8.8), and 5.7 (95% CI 3.1, 9.6) months in the first line, second line, and third line or later, respectively. The corresponding median OS was 15.5 (95% CI 12.6, 18.4), 12.1 (95% CI 10.0, 14.7), and 10.9 (95% CI 8.1, 14.5) months. Patients with poor performance status (ECOG PS ≥ 2) and with camrelizumab in the second line or later, but not patients with older age (≥ 75 years), were associated with poor survival. Adverse events occurred in 721 (73.0%) patients, with no new safety signals.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides an overview of camrelizumab use in unselected AEC patients. The real-world effectiveness and safety of camrelizumab are generally consistent with those observed in pivotal trials.