BACKGROUND

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy for treating esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study evaluates the therapeutic efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) in ESCC and explores potential biomarkers associated with treatment outcomes.

METHODS

Patients with locally advanced ESCC were enrolled and received two cycles of nICT followed by surgical resection. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response rate, while secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), safety, and the identification of predictive biomarkers.

RESULTS

A total of 47 patients were enrolled in the study, with 42 undergoing surgical resection, all of whom achieved R0 resection. The rates of complete and partial pathological responses were 28.5% and 16.7%, respectively. The 1-year and 2-year EFS rates were 82% and 37.3%, while OS rates were 100% and 71.4%, respectively. The majority of treatment-related adverse events were Grade 1-2, and no surgical delays were observed. RNA sequencing analysis identified epithelial-mesenchymal transition as the most significantly enriched pathway in non-responders. Notably, higher infiltration of normal fibroblasts was associated with improved pathological response and enhanced long-term survival, while myofibroblastic cancer-associated fibroblasts (myCAF) negatively impacted treatment efficacy and clinical outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Neoadjuvant PD-1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy show promising potential for patients with locally advanced ESCC, inducing a robust immune response that correlates with clinical outcomes. The infiltration of myCAF emerges as a potential predictive biomarker for treatment response and disease progression, underscoring the need for further mechanistic exploration and validation in larger cohorts.