Opportunities and challenges in combining immunotherapy and radiotherapy in esophageal cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Immunotherapy has shown promise in the treatment of esophageal cancer, but using it alone only benefits a small number of patients. Most patients either do not have a significant response or develop secondary drug resistance. The combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy appears to be a promising approach to treating esophageal cancer.

Purpose

We reviewed milestone clinical trials of radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy for esophageal cancer. We then discussed potential biomarkers for radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy, including programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) status, tumor mutation burden (TMB), tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, ct-DNA, imaging biomarkers, and clinical factors. Furthermore, we emphasize the key mechanisms of radiation therapy-

SUBMITTER: Zhang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10725359 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature