Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42317368›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2026

Immunotherapy-based adjuvant treatment after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma according to pathological response.

Chenyu Wang, Xiaoran Geng, Xinyu Cheng, Runchuan Ren, Linzhi Jin, Zhaojie Sheng, Shenglei Li, Meiling Zang, Yaowen Zhang

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Chenyu Wang *Department of Radiation Oncology, Anyang Tumor Hospital, The Affiliated Anyang Tumor Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Precise Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Anyang, China.
Xiaoran Geng *Research and Teaching Department, Anyang Tumor Hospital, Anyang, China.
Xinyu ChengDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Anyang Tumor Hospital, The Affiliated Anyang Tumor Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Precise Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Anyang, China.
Runchuan RenDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Anyang Tumor Hospital, The Affiliated Anyang Tumor Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Precise Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Anyang, China.
Linzhi JinDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Anyang Tumor Hospital, The Affiliated Anyang Tumor Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Precise Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Anyang, China.
Zhaojie ShengDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Anyang Tumor Hospital, The Affiliated Anyang Tumor Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Precise Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Anyang, China.
Shenglei LiDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Anyang Tumor Hospital, The Affiliated Anyang Tumor Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Precise Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Anyang, China.
Meiling ZangDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Anyang Tumor Hospital, The Affiliated Anyang Tumor Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Precise Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Anyang, China.
Yaowen ZhangDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Anyang Tumor Hospital, The Affiliated Anyang Tumor Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan Medical Key Laboratory of Precise Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Anyang, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (NICT) is increasingly used in patients with locally advanced resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, optimal postoperative adjuvant treatment strategies remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of immunotherapy-based adjuvant treatment in patients with ESCC after NICT according to pathological response status. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 260 patients with locally advanced ESCC who underwent radical resection after NICT between 2019 and 2023. Patients were first stratified by pathological response status [pathological complete response (pCR) vs. non-pCR], and immunotherapy-based adjuvant treatment was subsequently compared with observation within each stratum. Baseline imbalances were adjusted using propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards models. Results: Of the 260 patients, 84 (32.3%) achieved pCR, and 81 (31.2%) received immunotherapy-based adjuvant treatment. The median follow-up was 36.8 months. In the pCR cohort, immunotherapy-based adjuvant treatment did not significantly improve 3-year DFS or OS compared with observation (80.8% vs. 90.1%, P = 0.065; 96.2% vs. 91.8%, P = 0.486), with consistent results in the PSM and IPTW analyses. In the overall non-pCR cohort, immunotherapy-based adjuvant treatment likewise did not confer significant survival benefits (3-year DFS: 71.9% vs. 58.1%, P = 0.120; 3-year OS: 83.3% vs. 75.3%, P = 0.155), and the adjusted analyses yielded similar findings. Exploratory subgroup analyses suggested a potential survival benefit among non-pCR patients with pathological downstaging (3-year DFS: 82.5% vs. 57.6%, P = 0.028; 3-year OS: 93.8% vs. 72.6%, P = 0.022). Further analysis showed no significant differences in 3-year DFS or OS between adjuvant immunotherapy alone and adjuvant immunochemotherapy among non-pCR patients with pathological downstaging (83.3% vs. 81.7%, P = 0.890; 91.7% vs. 94.7%, P = 0.988). Conclusions: Among patients with ESCC treated with NICT, immunotherapy-based adjuvant treatment did not improve survival in those who achieved pCR or in the overall non-pCR population. A potential benefit was observed in non-pCR patients with pathological downstaging. In this subgroup, adjuvant immunotherapy alone and adjuvant immunochemotherapy showed comparable efficacy.

Indexed as

Esophageal NeoplasmsEsophageal Squamous Cell CarcinomaImmunotherapyNeoadjuvant TherapyAgedChemotherapy, AdjuvantFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPathologic Complete ResponseRetrospective StudiesTreatment Outcomeesophageal squamous cell carcinomaimmunotherapy-based adjuvant treatmentneoadjuvant immunochemotherapypathological complete responsepathological downstaging

Identifiers

PMID42317368
PMCPMC13272288

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.