Research progress on PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer

Liji CHEN; Hongmei MA; Shifa ZHANG; Kaize ZHONG; Dongbao YANG; Jiuhe SUN; Hongfeng LIU; Ru SONG; Jishan ZHANG; Haibo CAI

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Research progress on PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer

VernacularTitle:PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂在食管癌新辅助治疗中的研究进展
Author: Liji CHEN ¹ ; Hongmei MA ^{2
,

3} ; Shifa ZHANG ^{2
,

3} ; Kaize ZHONG ^{2
,

3} ; Dongbao YANG ¹ ; Jiuhe SUN ^{2
,

3} ; Hongfeng LIU ^{2
,

3} ; Ru SONG ^{2
,

3} ; Jishan ZHANG ¹ ; Haibo CAI ^{2
,

3}
Author Information

1. Jining Medical University, Jining, 272000, Shandong, P. R. China
2. 2. Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First People'
3. s Hospital of Jining, Jining, 272000, Shandong, P. R. China 3. Institute of Thoracic Surgery, Jining Institute of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272000, Shandong, P. R. China
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Immunotherapy; esophageal cancer; programmed death protein-1; programmed death ligand-1; inhibitors; neoadjuvant therapy; review
From: Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(05):714-721
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Esophageal cancer is one of the malignant tumors that poses a threat to human health, with both high incidence and malignancy. Currently, surgery following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for locally advanced esophageal cancer; however, the long-term prognosis remains unsatisfactory. In recent years, inhibitors of programmed death protein-1 (PD-1) and its ligand (programmed death ligand-1, PD-L1) have achieved breakthrough progress in other solid tumors, and research on esophageal cancer is gradually being conducted. With the demonstration of good efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the first-line and second-line treatment of advanced unresectable esophageal cancer, their incorporation into neoadjuvant treatment regimens has become a hot topic. Therefore, this article reviews the mechanism of action of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and their application in the neoadjuvant treatment of esophageal cancer.