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Cancer research

Adjuvant Immunotherapy Fails to Show Survival Advantage in Esophageal Cancer

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Researchers from the Taipei Veterans General Hospital have published a study in the Journal of Chest Surgery examining the real-world outcomes of adjuvant immunotherapy in patients with resected esophageal cancer. The investigation aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of immunotherapy in improving disease-free survival in patients who had undergone neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgical resection. The study retrospectively analyzed patients who had undergone treatment between January 2019 and February 2024. The results of the study showed that adjuvant immunotherapy did not demonstrate a significant survival advantage compared to adjuvant chemotherapy, even in patients meeting the eligibility criteria of the CheckMate 577 trial or those with pathological node-positive status.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study included 127 patients with a mean age of 60 years and a male-to-female ratio of 86:14.
  • The participants were grouped by adjuvant treatment received: no adjuvant therapy (n=68), adjuvant immunotherapy (AI) (n=23), or adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) (n=36).
  • The primary outcomes of the study included overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS).
  • Subgroup analyses were performed for patients meeting CheckMate 577 eligibility criteria (n=68) and those with pathological node-positive (ypN+) status (n=54).
  • The median OS was 34 months for both AI and AC groups (p=0.81), while the median RFS was 15 months and 16 months, respectively (p=0.94).
  • Similarly, in the CheckMate 577-eligible subgroup, OS and RFS were similar between AI and AC groups (mOS: 25 months vs. 47 months, p=0.16; mRFS: 19 months vs. 20 months, p=0.74).
  • AI did not demonstrate a significant survival advantage compared to AC, even in patients meeting CheckMate 577 criteria or those with ypN+ status.
  • The study concluded that identifying the optimal adjuvant treatment for esophageal cancer remains a challenging and evolving issue.

Statistics:

  • 127 patients were included in the study with a mean age of 60 years.
  • 86% of participants were male, and 14% were female.
  • 23 patients received adjuvant immunotherapy, 36 received adjuvant chemotherapy, and 68 received no adjuvant therapy.
  • The median overall survival (OS) was 34 months for both AI and AC groups.
  • The median recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 15 months and 16 months for AI and AC groups, respectively.
  • The CheckMate 577-eligible subgroup consisted of 68 patients, with similar OS and RFS between AI and AC groups (mOS: 25 months vs. 47 months, p=0.16; mRFS: 19 months vs. 20 months, p=0.74).

Sources:

  • Preliminary Real-World Outcomes of Adjuvant Immunotherapy in Resected Esophageal Cancer: A Retrospective Study from Taiwan. Journal of Chest Surgery, 2025,58(4):134-145.
  • NewsRx. Reports Summarize Esophageal Cancer Research from Taipei Veterans General Hospital (Preliminary Real-World Outcomes of Adjuvant Immunotherapy in Resected Esophageal Cancer: A Retrospective Study from Taiwan). Immunotherapy Weekly. July 16, 2025; p 2650.

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