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Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Versus Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy for Resectable Esophageal Cancer: A Target Trial Emulation Study (TTE-ESCC)

17 sierpnia 2026 zaktualizowane przez: YanZheng,MD, Henan Cancer Hospital

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

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is highly prevalent in China, with most patients presenting with locally advanced disease. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is the current standard of care, while neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) has emerged as a promising alternative. However, no large-scale randomized controlled trial has directly compared nICT versus nCRT for long-term overall survival (OS) in this population. This study aims to compare the causal effects of nICT versus nCRT on OS and other key outcomes in patients with resectable locally advanced ESCC using target trial emulation (TTE) methodology. This is a single-center, retrospective, observational cohort study using TTE. Data are derived from electronic health records (EHR) of esophageal cancer patients hospitalized at Henan Cancer Hospital between January 2013 and December 2025. Patients meeting eligibility criteria (age ≥18 years; histologically confirmed ESCC; clinical stage cT3-4a N0-2 M0 or cT2N+ M0; ECOG PS 0-1; no prior antitumor therapy) are assigned to nICT or nCRT groups based on actual treatment initiation. Propensity score overlap weighting is used to balance baseline covariates. The primary outcome is overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes include event-free survival (EFS), pathological complete response (pCR) rate, tumor regression grade (TRG), R0 resection rate, and safety. This study will provide real-world causal evidence on the comparative effectiveness of nICT versus nCRT in the Chinese ESCC population.

Przegląd badań

Status

Jeszcze nie rekrutacja

Warunki

Interwencja / Leczenie

Szczegółowy opis

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.

Typ studiów

Obserwacyjny

Zapisy (Szacowany)

400

Kontakty i lokalizacje

Ta sekcja zawiera dane kontaktowe osób prowadzących badanie oraz informacje o tym, gdzie badanie jest przeprowadzane.

Kontakt w sprawie studiów

Kopia zapasowa kontaktu do badania

Kryteria uczestnictwa

Badacze szukają osób, które pasują do określonego opisu, zwanego kryteriami kwalifikacyjnymi. Niektóre przykłady tych kryteriów to ogólny stan zdrowia danej osoby lub wcześniejsze leczenie.

Kryteria kwalifikacji

Wiek uprawniający do nauki

  • Dorosły
  • Starszy dorosły

Akceptuje zdrowych ochotników

Nie

Metoda próbkowania

Próbka bez prawdopodobieństwa

Badana populacja

The study population consists of patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) diagnosed at Henan Cancer Hospital between January 2013 and December 2025. Eligible patients are those who meet the inclusion criteria and initiated either neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) or neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) within 180 days after Time Zero. Patients are identified from electronic health records (EHR) including medical records, pathology reports, imaging reports, and prescription systems.

Opis

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age ≥ 18 years at the time of diagnosis.
  2. Histologically confirmed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
  3. 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.
  4. ECOG performance status 0-1 (or proxy: total hospitalization days ≤14 days in the past year if ECOG PS is missing).
  5. No prior antitumor therapy for esophageal cancer (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy).
  6. Curative surgical intent documented at Time Zero.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Distant metastasis (M1) or clinically determined unresectable disease.
  2. Active concurrent malignancy within 5 years prior to diagnosis (excluding basal cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ).
  3. Severe comorbidities significantly limiting life expectancy or precluding neoadjuvant therapy (proxy: total hospitalization days >30 days in the past year).
  4. Pregnancy or lactation.
  5. Known contraindications or hypersensitivity to the study drugs.

Plan studiów

Ta sekcja zawiera szczegółowe informacje na temat planu badania, w tym sposób zaprojektowania badania i jego pomiary.

Jak projektuje się badanie?

Szczegóły projektu

Kohorty i interwencje

Grupa / Kohorta
Interwencja / Leczenie
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.

Co mierzy badanie?

Podstawowe miary wyniku

Miara wyniku
Opis środka
Ramy czasowe
Overall Survival (OS)
Ramy czasowe: 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

Miary wyników drugorzędnych

Miara wyniku
Opis środka
Ramy czasowe
Event-Free Survival (EFS)
Ramy czasowe: 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
Ramy czasowe: 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)
Ramy czasowe: 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
Ramy czasowe: 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
Ramy czasowe: 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
Ramy czasowe: 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

Współpracownicy i badacze

Tutaj znajdziesz osoby i organizacje zaangażowane w to badanie.

Sponsor

Daty zapisu na studia

Daty te śledzą postęp w przesyłaniu rekordów badań i podsumowań wyników do ClinicalTrials.gov. Zapisy badań i zgłoszone wyniki są przeglądane przez National Library of Medicine (NLM), aby upewnić się, że spełniają określone standardy kontroli jakości, zanim zostaną opublikowane na publicznej stronie internetowej.

Główne daty studiów

Rozpoczęcie studiów (Szacowany)

20 sierpnia 2026

Zakończenie podstawowe (Szacowany)

31 grudnia 2027

Ukończenie studiów (Szacowany)

20 sierpnia 2028

Daty rejestracji na studia

Pierwszy przesłany

17 sierpnia 2026

Pierwszy przesłany, który spełnia kryteria kontroli jakości

17 sierpnia 2026

Pierwszy wysłany (Rzeczywisty)

21 sierpnia 2026

Aktualizacje rekordów badań

Ostatnia wysłana aktualizacja (Rzeczywisty)

21 sierpnia 2026

Ostatnia przesłana aktualizacja, która spełniała kryteria kontroli jakości

17 sierpnia 2026

Ostatnia weryfikacja

1 sierpnia 2026

Więcej informacji

Terminy związane z tym badaniem

Plan dla danych uczestnika indywidualnego (IPD)

Planujesz udostępniać dane poszczególnych uczestników (IPD)?

NIE

Informacje o lekach i urządzeniach, dokumenty badawcze

Bada produkt leczniczy regulowany przez amerykańską FDA

Nie

Bada produkt urządzenia regulowany przez amerykańską FDA

Nie

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