J. Pan1, Q. Pan1, S. Wu2, Q. Zhang3, Y. Xu4, and J. Li5; 1Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China, 2Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, fuzhou, Fujian, China, 3The Affiliated Hospital of Putian University, fuzhou, fujian, China, 4Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, fuzhou, fujian, China, 5Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
Purpose/Objective(s): Advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) usually has a poor prognosis. The combination of radiotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can produce synergistic effects and improve the prognosis of patients with advanced ESCC. However, the efficacy of radiotherapy combined with ICIs in ESCC patients with HBV infection is still unclear. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy combined with ICIs in advanced ESCC patients with HBV infection. Materials/
Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective, real-world study that included HBV+ and HBV- ESCC patients who received first-line radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy. The primary endpoints are progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR), and the secondary endpoints are duration of response (DOR) and safety. Results: A total of 131 patients with stage III and stage IV ESCC admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to April 2023 were included in this study, including 30 cases of HBV+ and 101 cases of HBV-. There were 18 (62.1%) males in the HBV+ ESCC group and 75 (75.0%) males in the HBV- ESCC group. The median age was 65 (interquartile range, 57 to 70) in the HBV+ group and 64 (interquartile range, 56 to 70) in the HBV- group. The median PFS of the HBV+ group was 20.2 months, and the median PFS of the HBV- group was 20.26 months, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.154). The ORR of HBV+ group was 51.5%, which was higher than that of HBV- group (43.6%). Conclusion: In this case series, HBV infection has no effect on the efficacy of first-line radiotherapy plus immunotherapy in patients with advanced ESCC, which needs to be verified by a larger cohorts of patients.
