Early and mid-stage esophageal cancer can achieve a particular effect through surgeries or comprehensive treatment based on surgery. Once the esophageal cancer progresses to the advanced stage, it is still lack of effective remedy for the disease, and the patient's prognosis is poor. Immunotherapy has developed rapidly in recent years, bringing dawn to patients with advanced esophageal cancer. On July 31, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved KEYTRUDA (Merck) for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and it became the first milestone drug for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In the paper, we will review the progress of immunotherapy in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer on the basis of current clinical researches, which might provide ideas for further studies in the immunotherapy for esophageal cancer.
ObjectiveTo analyze the symptom characteristics and influencing factors in order to provide reference for symptom management of patients with esophageal cancer after operation.MethodsA total of 216 esophageal cancer patients, including 180 males and 36 females with an average age of 63.7±8.3 years, who underwent surgical operation in our hospital from March to October 2018 were recruited and investigated with self-designed symptom questionnaire at 1 month after surgery.ResultsThe top five symptoms were acid reflux (48.6%), cough (42.6%), dysphagia (40.7%), hoarseness (12.0%), and diarrhea (11.6%). Women were more prone to acid reflux (OR=2.053), fatigue (OR=1.932), chest pain (OR=3.681), sleep disturbance (OR=2.419), abdominal pain (OR=3.882), nausea (OR=3.014) and vomiting (OR=2.505). Patients over 60 years were more prone to dysphagia (OR=2.274). Patients with lower thoracic esophageal cancer had a higher incidence of dysphagia compared with patients with carcinoma of esophagogastric junction (OR=0.326). Patients who had neoadjuvant chemotherapy were more likely to suffer acid reflux (OR=1.594). Open surgery (OR=3.681) and neoadjuvant radiotherapy (OR=2.495) were the risk factors of chest pain.ConclusionThere are many symptoms in patients with esophageal cancer after operation, and the occurrence of symptoms is closely related to gender, age, tumor location, surgical procedure and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.
Two male patients (75 years and 51 years, respectively) suffered infection of novel coronavirus after minimally invasive surgery for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Sichuan Cancer Hospital since December 2022. Both patients developed severe hypoxemia after surgery, and were treated with advanced oxygen therapy, antiviral therapy, hormone shock therapy, antibiotic anti-infection and nutritional support. The two patients stayed in the intensive care unit for 6 days and 8 days respectively. They were transferred to the general ward for symptomatic treatment and were discharged successfully. Both patients required low-flow oxygen maintenance after discharge. On the 20th day of follow-up after discharge, patient 1 still needed low-flow oxygen, his oxygen saturation could be maintained above 97%, but intermittent deoxygenation could be performed for half an hour. Patient 2 was in good condition on 35 days after discharge.
ObjectiveTo compare the long-term survival of elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with surgical versus non-surgical treatment. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of elderly patients aged ≥70 years with ESCC who underwent esophagectomy or radiotherapy/chemotherapy at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2009 to September 2017. Patients were divided into a surgical group (S group) and a non-surgical group (NS group) according to the treatment method. The propensity score matching method was used to match the two groups of patients at a ratio of 1:1, and the survival of the two groups before and after matching was analyzed. ResultsA total of 726 elderly patients with ESCC were included, including 552 males and 174 females, with 651 patients aged 70-79 years and 75 patients aged≥80 years. There were 515 patients in the S group and 211 patients in the NS group. The median follow-up time was 60.8 months, and the median overall survival of the S group was 41.9 months [95%CI (35.2, 48.5)], while that of the NS group was only 24.0 months [95%CI (19.8, 28.3)]. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of the S group were 84%, 54%, and 40%, respectively, while those of the NS group were 72%, 40%, and 30%, respectively [HR=0.689, 95%CI (0.559, 0.849), P<0.001]. After matching, 138 patients were included in each group, and there was no statistical difference in the overall survival between the two groups [HR=0.871, 95%CI (0.649, 1.167), P=0.352]. ConclusionCompared with conservative treatment, there is no significant difference in the long-term survival of elderly patients aged≥70 years who undergo esophagectomy for ESCC. Neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery is still an important choice to potentially improve the survival of elderly patients with ESCC.