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Review
. 2021 Sep 15;13(18):4632.
doi: 10.3390/cancers13184632.

Immunotherapy for Esophageal Cancers: What Is Practice Changing in 2021?

Hannah Christina Puhr  1   2 , Matthias Preusser  1   2 , Aysegül Ilhan-Mutlu  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Immunotherapy for Esophageal Cancers: What Is Practice Changing in 2021?

Hannah Christina Puhr et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

The prognosis of advanced esophageal cancer is dismal, and treatment options are limited. Since the first promising data on second-line treatment with checkpoint inhibitors in esophageal cancer patients were published, immunotherapy was surmised to change the face of modern cancer treatment. Recently, several studies have found this to be true, as the checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab and pembrolizumab have achieved revolutionary response rates in advanced as well as resectable settings in esophageal cancer patients. Although the current results of large clinical trials promise high efficacy with tolerable toxicity, desirable survival rates, and sustained quality of life, some concerns remain. This review aims to summarize the novel clinical data on immunotherapeutic agents for esophageal cancer and provide a critical view of potential restrictions for the implementation of these therapies for unselected patient populations.

Keywords: esophageal adenocarcinoma; esophageal cancer; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; immunotherapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

H.C.P. has received travel support from Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche. M.P. has received honoraria for lectures, consultation or advisory board participation from the following for-profit companies: Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG), CMC Contrast, GlaxoSmithKline, Mundipharma, Roche, BMJ Journals, MedMedia, Astra Zeneca, Abb Vie, Lilly, Medahead, Daiichi Sankyo, Sanofi, Merck Sharp & Dome, Tocagen, Adastra, Gan & Lee Phannaceuticals. A.I.-M. participated in advisory boards from MSD, BMS and Servier, received lecture honoraria from Eli Lilly, MSD, BMS and Servier, is the local PI for clinical trials sponsored by BMS and Roche and received travel support from BMS, Roche, Eli Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo.

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