Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Versus Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy for Resectable Esophageal Cancer: A Target Trial Emulation Study (TTE-ESCC)
A Virtual Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Versus Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy for Resectable Esophageal Cancer Based on Real-World Data: A Target Trial Emulation Study Protocol
Studieoversigt
Status
Status
Betingelser
Betingelser
Intervention / Behandling
Intervention / Behandling
Detaljeret beskrivelse
Detailed Description This study is a target trial emulation (TTE) designed to compare the causal effects of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) versus neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in patients with resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The TTE framework, as proposed by Hernán and Robins, is used to emulate a hypothetical randomized controlled trial using observational data.
Data Source: Electronic health records (EHR) from Henan Cancer Hospital, including medical records, pathology reports, imaging reports, prescription systems, radiotherapy records, and follow-up systems, covering the period from January 2013 to December 2025.
Target Trial Specification:
- Eligibility: Age ≥18 years; histologically confirmed ESCC; clinical stage cT3-4a N0-2 M0 or cT2N+ M0 (AJCC 8th edition); ECOG PS 0-1; no prior antitumor therapy for esophageal cancer; curative surgical intent at Time Zero.
- Treatment Strategies: Strategy A (nCRT): platinum-based chemotherapy with concurrent radiotherapy (41.4-50.4 Gy). Strategy B (nICT): PD-1 inhibitor combined with platinum-based chemotherapy (2-4 cycles).
- Assignment: In the target trial, patients are randomized 1:1. In the emulation, patients are assigned based on actual treatment received, with propensity score overlap weighting to simulate randomization.
- Follow-up: Time Zero is defined as the day before the first neoadjuvant treatment order. Follow-up continues until death, loss to follow-up, or administrative end of study (December 31, 2026). A grace period of up to 180 days is allowed for treatment initiation (i.e., the order date must be within 180 days from Time Zero). Patients who initiate treatment beyond this window are excluded from the primary analysis or evaluated separately in sensitivity analyses.
- Outcomes: Primary: Overall Survival (OS). Secondary: Event-Free Survival (EFS), pathological complete response (pCR) rate, tumor regression grade (TRG), R0 resection rate, and safety (≥grade 3 adverse events per CTCAE v5.0, postoperative complications per Clavien-Dindo classification).
Statistical Analysis:
- Primary Analysis: Overlap weighting using propensity scores to balance baseline covariates; weighted Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals for OS and EFS.
- Secondary Analysis: pCR, TRG, and R0 rates compared between groups in the surgical subgroup.
- Sensitivity Analyses: Per-protocol analysis, clone-censor-weight method, E-value for unmeasured confounding, different Time Zero definitions, different grace periods (4 weeks, 12 weeks), complete-case analysis vs multiple imputation.
- Sensitivity Analyses: Per-protocol analysis, clone-censor-weight method, E-value for unmeasured confounding, different Time Zero definitions, different grace periods (4 weeks, 12 weeks), complete-case analysis vs multiple imputation.
- Subgroup Analyses: By age, sex, tumor location, clinical stage, ECOG PS, and diagnosis period (2013-2019 vs 2020-2025).
Sample Size: Based on historical data, the target sample size is approximately 150-200 patients per group, with a total enrollment of approximately 400 patients (final sample size determined after data extraction and pilot feasibility assessment).
Ethics: Approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Henan Cancer Hospital (Approval No. 2026-366-001). A waiver of informed consent was granted for this retrospective study.
Undersøgelsestype
Undersøgelsestype
Tilmelding (Anslået)
Tilmelding
Kontakter og lokationer
Studiekontakt
Studiekontakt
- Navn: Yan Zheng, M.D./Ph.D
- Telefonnummer: +86-371-65587610
- E-mail: hnszlyylixiang@163.com
Undersøgelse Kontakt Backup
- Navn: Ming Song
- E-mail: hnszlyylixiang@163.com
Deltagelseskriterier
Berettigelseskriterier
Berettigelseskriterier
Aldre berettiget til at studere
- Voksen
- Ældre voksen
Tager imod sunde frivillige
Prøveudtagningsmetode
Studiebefolkning
Beskrivelse
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age ≥ 18 years at the time of diagnosis.
- Histologically confirmed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
- Clinical stage cT3-4a N0-2 M0 or cT2N+ M0 (AJCC 8th edition), with no distant metastasis (M1), based on clinical staging records available at Time Zero.
- ECOG performance status 0-1 (or proxy: total hospitalization days ≤14 days in the past year if ECOG PS is missing).
- No prior antitumor therapy for esophageal cancer (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy).
- Curative surgical intent documented at Time Zero.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Distant metastasis (M1) or clinically determined unresectable disease.
- Active concurrent malignancy within 5 years prior to diagnosis (excluding basal cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ).
- Severe comorbidities significantly limiting life expectancy or precluding neoadjuvant therapy (proxy: total hospitalization days >30 days in the past year).
- Pregnancy or lactation.
- Known contraindications or hypersensitivity to the study drugs.
Studieplan
Hvordan er undersøgelsen tilrettelagt?
Design detaljer
Antal grupper/kohorter
Kohorter og interventioner
Gruppe / kohorteGruppe / kohorte |
Intervention / BehandlingIntervention / Behandling |
|---|---|
|
Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy (nICT) Group
Patients who initiated neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (PD-1 inhibitor combined with platinum-based chemotherapy) within 180 days after Time Zero.
Treatment includes PD-1 inhibitors (e.g., camrelizumab, sintilimab, toripalimab, tislelizumab) combined with paclitaxel/nab-paclitaxel and cisplatin/carboplatin, planned for 2-4 cycles, followed by surgery when feasible.
|
Concurrent radiotherapy administered as part of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, typically 41.4-50.4
Gy in fractionated doses, combined with platinum-based chemotherapy.
Platinum-based chemotherapy administered as part of neoadjuvant treatment, combined with either concurrent radiotherapy (nCRT) or PD-1 inhibitors (nICT).
|
|
Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) Group
Patients who initiated neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (platinum-based chemotherapy with concurrent radiotherapy) within 180 days after Time Zero.
Radiotherapy is typically administered at 41.4-50.4
Gy in fractionated doses, with concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy, followed by surgery when feasible.
|
Platinum-based chemotherapy administered as part of neoadjuvant treatment, combined with either concurrent radiotherapy (nCRT) or PD-1 inhibitors (nICT).
PD-1 inhibitors administered as part of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy, combined with platinum-based chemotherapy for 2-4 cycles.
|
Hvad måler undersøgelsen?
Primære resultatmål
Primære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
Overall Survival (OS)
Tidsramme: From Time Zero up to 10 years
|
Overall Survival (OS) is defined as the time from Time Zero (the day before the first neoadjuvant treatment order) to death from any cause.
Patients alive at the time of analysis are censored at the date of last known contact.
|
From Time Zero up to 10 years
|
Sekundære resultatmål
Sekundære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
Event-Free Survival (EFS)
Tidsramme: From Time Zero up to 10 years
|
Event-Free Survival (EFS) is defined as the time from Time Zero to the first occurrence of death, disease progression, local recurrence, distant metastasis, or inoperability, whichever occurs first.
|
From Time Zero up to 10 years
|
|
Pathological Complete Response (pCR) Rate
Tidsramme: At the time of surgery
|
Pathological complete response (pCR) is defined as the absence of viable tumor cells in the primary tumor and all resected lymph nodes (ypT0 ypN0) on postoperative pathological examination.
|
At the time of surgery
|
|
Tumor Regression Grade (TRG)
Tidsramme: At the time of surgery
|
Tumor regression grade assessed according to Mandard criteria or Chinese standard (TRG 0-3) on postoperative pathological examination.
|
At the time of surgery
|
|
R0 Resection Rate
Tidsramme: At the time of surgery
|
R0 resection rate is defined as the proportion of patients achieving microscopically margin-negative resection on postoperative pathological examination.
|
At the time of surgery
|
|
Incidence of Treatment-Related Adverse Events
Tidsramme: From treatment initiation through 90 days after treatment completion
|
Incidence and severity of treatment-related adverse events (≥grade 3), graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE) version 5.0.
|
From treatment initiation through 90 days after treatment completion
|
|
Incidence of Postoperative Complications
Tidsramme: From surgery through 90 days postoperatively
|
Incidence and severity of postoperative complications graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification (≥grade III) and Esophagectomy Complications Consensus Group (ECCG) criteria.
|
From surgery through 90 days postoperatively
|
Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere
Sponsor
Sponsor
Datoer for undersøgelser
Studer store datoer
Studiestart (Anslået)
Studiestart
Primær færdiggørelse (Anslået)
Primær færdiggørelse
Studieafslutning (Anslået)
Studieafslutning
Datoer for studieregistrering
Først indsendt
Først indsendt
Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier
Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier
Først opslået (Faktiske)
Først opslået
Opdateringer af undersøgelsesjournaler
Sidste opdatering sendt (Faktiske)
Sidste opdatering sendt
Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier
Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier
Sidst verificeret
Sidst verificeret
Mere information
Begreber relateret til denne undersøgelse
Nøgleord
Yderligere relevante MeSH-vilkår
- Neoplasmer efter sted
- Neoplasmer
- Neoplasmer efter histologisk type
- Gastrointestinale neoplasmer
- Neoplasmer i fordøjelsessystemet
- Sygdomme i fordøjelsessystemet
- Gastrointestinale sygdomme
- Neoplasmer i hoved og hals
- Neoplasmer, kirtel og epitel
- Esophageale sygdomme
- Karcinom
- Neoplasmer, pladecelle
- Esophageal pladecellekarcinom
- Esophageale neoplasmer
- Karcinom, pladecelle
- Antineoplastiske midler, immunologiske
- Antineoplastiske midler
- Molekylære mekanismer for farmakologisk virkning
- Terapeutik
- Farmakologiske handlinger
- Kemiske handlinger og anvendelser
- Terapeutiske anvendelser
- Uorganiske kemikalier
- Immune Checkpoint-hæmmere
- Strålebehandling
- Platinforbindelser
Andre undersøgelses-id-numre
Andre undersøgelses-id-numre
- 2026-366
Plan for individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)
Planlægger du at dele individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)?
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