ArticleEClinicalMedicine2026
Iparomlimab and tuvonralimab (QL1706) combined definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (QL1706-IIT-02): a single arm, phase 2 trial.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Induction immunochemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy improves survival in unresectable esophageal cancer: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Induction chemoimmunotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for inoperable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a real-world study.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Case Report: Severe QL1706-associated immune-related inflammatory myopathy presenting with respiratory dysfunction, bulbar weakness, ocular motility impairment, and suspected cardiac involvement.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
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16 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Definitive chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for inoperable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the prognosis for these patients remains poor. This study aimed to evaluate iparomlimab and tuvonralimab (QL1706), a novel PD-1/CTLA-4 dual inhibitor, combined with definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with unresectable stage III-IVA ESCC. Methods: This single-arm, open-label phase 2 trial was conducted at a single center in China between August 2022 and September 2023. 39 patients with unresectable stage III-IVA ESCC were included. QL1706 is composed of iparomlimab (anti-PD-1 IgG4) and tuvonralimab (anti-CTLA-4 IgG1) in a fixed 2:1 ratio. Patients received radiotherapy (50.4 Gy/28 in fractions on 5 days per week), concurrent chemotherapy (paclitaxel 135 mg/m Findings: 20 patients (51.3%) completed the full cycles of QL-1706. Reasons for the premature cessation of QL1706 were disease progression (n = 7), COVID-19 infection (n = 2), pneumonia (n = 2), allergic reaction (n = 2), patient refusal (n = 4), rash (n = 1), and esophageal hemorrhage (n = 1). With a median follow-up of 21.1 months, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 14.8 (95% CI: 11.2-NA) months. The median overall survival (OS) was immature. The 1-year PFS and OS rates were 58.6% (95% CI: 44.9-76.4) and 84.6% (95% CI: 74.0-96.7). The objective response rate and median duration of response were 84.6% (95% CI: 69.5-94.1) and 12.7 months (95% CI: 8.9-NA). Exploratory biomarker analyses identified several potential predictive biomarkers: 1) immunochemistry staining revealed that PD-L1 combined positive score ≥1 correlated with prolonged PFS (HR 0.37, p = 0.036); 2) Whole-exome sequencing detected high tumor mutation burden associated with better PFS (HR 0.24, p = 0.0066), while the mutated group (TNRC18/CAMSAP3/CARMIL2/ZFHX4 gene alterations) correlated with poor PFS (HR 6.40, p = 0.0002) and OS (HR 6.45, p = 0.0020); and 3) Olink plasma proteomics identified baseline levels of TWEAK and FASLG were both positively associated with PFS and OS (p < 0.05 for all). Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 89.7% (35/39) of the patients, predominantly lymphopenia (31/39, 79.5%). Interpretation: QL1706 combined with chemoradiotherapy demonstrated potential antitumor activity and manageable toxicity, supporting further investigation. Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China, State Key Laboratory of Druggability Evaluation and Systematic Translational Medicine, Tianjin Key Medical Discipline Construction Project, and Tianjin Key Medical Discipline (Specialty) Construction Project.
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