Home » Cancer of the esophagus, yes to immunotherapy to prevent recurrence

Cancer of the esophagus, yes to immunotherapy to prevent recurrence

by admin

Immunotherapy used even in the early stages of esophageal cancer can prevent recurrence in some patients. The CheckMate -577 clinical study demonstrated this and thanks to these results the European Commission approved nivolumab as the first adjuvant immunotherapy treatment for this neoplasm. The approval is for adult patients with esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer who have residual pathological disease after previous neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (CRT).

Cancer, immunotherapy is increasingly used

by Daniele Banfi


Esophageal tumor and GEJ

Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with approximately 600,000 new cases and more than 540,000 deaths in 2020. The two most common esophageal cancers are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer, is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with more than a million new cases and approximately 770,000 deaths in 2020. Numerous cancers can be classified as carcinoma gastric, including some types of cancers that form in the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), the site of the digestive tract that connects the esophagus to the stomach. Although gastroesophageal junction cancer has a lower prevalence than distal gastric cancer, it is continuously increasing.

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by Tina Simoniello


I study

The results of the CheckMate -577 study were presented at the Virtual Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in September 2020 and the Annual Congress of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in June 2021. The study involved nearly 800 patients with resected tumor of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction, who received neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy and did not achieve a complete pathological response. we come to the results: nivolumab reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by 31% compared to placebo; disease-free survival was 22.4 months in patients who received nivolumab compared with 11 months in those who received placebo.

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Cancer of the esophagus, with immunotherapy you live longer

by Letizia Gabaglio


The incidence of any treatment-related adverse event (TRAE), including all grade and grade 3-4 TRAEs, was 71% and 13%, respectively, in patients treated with nivolumab compared with 46% and 6% in patients. who received the placebo. Severe all grade and Grade 3-4 TRAEs occurred in less than 10% of patients treated with nivolumab (8% for each grade, 6% for grade 3-4), compared with 3% and 1% of patients who received placebo, with a low rate of all-grade treatment-related discontinuation in both arms (9% with nivolumab vs 3% with placebo).

Gastroesophageal cancer, European Commission approves first second-line immunotherapy


“Bristol Myers Squibb – said Ian M. Waxman, MD, development lead, gastrointestinal cancers of the pharmaceutical company – was the first company to bring checkpoint inhibitors to the adjuvant setting for the treatment of patients with melanoma and we are now pleased to be the first to bring adjuvant therapy to European patients with tumors of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction who continue to face an important unmet clinical need “.

ESMO 2020

Gastric and esophageal cancer, immunotherapy increases survival even in less common forms


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