Pembrolizumab for the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer

The prognosis of patients with advanced esophageal cancer (EC) remains poor and there are limited effective therapeutic agents for EC. Pembrolizumab monotherapy exerts clinically meaningful benefits for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients with a combined positive score of >= 10. Additionally, pembrolizumab plus doublet chemotherapy results in a significant survival benefit for patients with advanced EC as first-line treatment compared with chemotherapy alone. We provide an overview of immune checkpoint inhibitors and present important clinical data related to treatment for EC patients. In our opinion, pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy should be the standard first-line treatment for patients with advanced EC, regardless of histology and combined positive score. Biomarker studies to identify patient populations in which immune checkpoint inhibitors are expected to show efficacy are needed.

Automated summary

The prognosis of advanced esophageal cancer remains poor, with limited effective treatment options. Pembrolizumab monotherapy has shown benefits for patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who have a combined positive score of >=10. Additionally, pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment provides significant survival benefits compared to chemotherapy alone.