Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy combined with surgery for locally advanced esophageal cancer has become the standard treatment, and despite the survival benefit, most patients still experience postoperative recurrence and distant metastasis. Immune checkpoint inhibitors play an anti-tumor role by activating T cells, and immunotherapy has become one of the important strategies for first-line and second-line treatment of advanced esophageal cancer with the continuous evolution of immunotherapy models. Regarding neoadjuvant immunotherapy for esophageal cancer, a large number of studies are being carried out and explored, which are expected to inject new vitality into neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer. This article reviews the current clinical studies on neoadjuvant immunotherapy for esophageal cancer.
Objective To compare the quality of life (QOL) of advanced Siewert type Ⅱ adenocarcinoma esophagogastric junction (AEG) patients treated by the total gastrectomy, traditional proximal gastrectomy or proximal gastrectomy with gastric tube reconstruction opertations, and to provide some clinical basis for the choice of surgical methods for AEG. Methods A total of 90 patients with Siewert type Ⅱ AEG were retrospectively collected from the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to different surgical methods (n=30 in each group), a total gastrectomy group (23 males, 7 females, aged 47-79 years), a traditional proximal gastrectomy group (treated with the traditional proximal gastrectomy procedure, 19 males, 11 females, aged 44-80 years), and a narrow gastric tube group (treated with the proximal gastrectomy with gastric tube reconstruction procedure, 25 males, 5 females, aged 47-83 years). The Chinese version of Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ-C30) and Quality of Life Questionnaire Oesophagogastric-25 (QLQ-OG25) designed by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) were used to collect the patients’ information in the three groups about their QOL during the first six months and one year after the three procedures. Results There was no statistical difference in the clinical data among the three groups (all P>0.05). QOL during the first six months after the operations assessed by the QLQ-C30 questionnaire table showed that the narrow gastric tube group was significantly best in total QOL, physical function, fatigue, and emotional function among the three groups (all P<0.05). The total gastrectomy group was the worst in role function, dyspnea, fatigue and diarrhea among the three groups (all P<0.05). The traditional proximal gastrectomy group had a worse evaluation in lose of appetite than the other two groups (P<0.05). QOL during the first six months after the operations assessed by the QLQ-OG25 questionnaire table showed that the traditional proximal gastrectomy group had a significantly worse evaluation in palirrhea than the other two groups (both P<0.05). The total gastrectomy group had a significantly worse evaluation in anxiety than the other two groups (both P<0.05). QOL during the first year after the operations assessed by the QLQ-C30 questionnaire table showed that the narrow gastric tube group had a significantly highest evaluation in total QOL physical function and emotional function among the three groups (all P<0.05). The total gastrectomy group had a significantly worst evaluation in diarrhea among the three groups (P<0.05). QOL during the first year after operations assessed by QLQ-OG25 questionnaire table showed that the traditional proximal gastrectomy group had a significantly worse evaluation in palirrhea than the other two groups (all P<0.05). Conclusion The narrow tubular esophagogastric anastomosis is better than the total gastrectomy and the traditional proximal gastrectomy for the treatment of the advanced Siewert type Ⅱ adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction, so this operation is worth being recommended.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma can easily penetrate into the esophageal wall and invade adjacent organs due to the lack of serosa. Stage cT4b tumors involving organs adjacent to the aorta, vertebral body, trachea, or bronchus were considered unresectable. For unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, radical chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy is recommended. However, the therapeutic effect is poor. With the advent of conversion surgery, surgical resection is feasible after induction therapy for patients with esophageal tumors that are initially unresectable due to adjacent organ invasion or distant metastasis. This article reviews the research on conversion surgery for unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in recent years in order to explore the clinical application prospects of conversion surgery.