Clin Cancer Res: Long-term outcomes of second-line nivolumab in advanced esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is one of the most aggressive gastrointestinal cancers and the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with approximately 6,041,000 new cases of esophageal cancer worldwide in 2020
.
Data on long-term prognostic information in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors are limited

ATTRACTION-3 is a randomized, multicenter, open-label Phase 3 trial in which nivolumab vs chemotherapy (paclitaxel or docetaxel) in previously treated ESCC patients is reported.
3-year follow-up data
.

Patients 20 years of age and older with unresectable advanced or recurrent ESCC were randomized (1:1) to receive nivolumab or chemotherapy (paclitaxel or docetaxel) until disease progression or intolerable toxicity

Overall survival in both groups

A total of 419 patients were enrolled, of which 210 received nivolumab and 209 received chemotherapy
.
The shortest follow-up was 36.
0 months, and the overall survival in the nivolumab group was longer than in the chemotherapy group (median overall survival: 10.
9 months vs 8.
5 months, HR 0.

In conclusion, our findings suggest that nivolumab has a long-term overall survival advantage over chemotherapy as second-line therapy for previously treated advanced esophageal cancer
.
Compared with chemotherapy, patients in the nivolumab group had longer overall survival with or without best response, and nivolumab was well tolerated

Original source:

Morihito Okada, et al.
Three-Year Follow-Up and Response–Survival Relationship of Nivolumab in Previously Treated Patients with Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ATTRACTION-3).