Investigating the impact of the inflammatory immune microenvironment and steroids or COX-2 inhibitors usage on immunotherapy in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC): a propensity score matched analysis.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The research aimed to evaluate the connection between pre-treatment inflammatory biomarkers and clinical results in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2019 and 2022, we analyzed 354 individuals diagnosed with metastatic ESCC who underwent immunotherapy. The study sought to evaluate the impact of specific inflammatory biomarkers (Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CRP/ALB) and Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors or steroids usage on the effectiveness and survival outcomes of immunotherapy in advanced ESCC. The research utilized Kaplan‒Meier and Cox regression models alongside propensity score matching for analysis. RESULTS: The findings revealed that elevated pre-treatment NLR (11.0 vs. 14.6 months, p = 0.021) and CRP/ALB (11.4 vs. 14.6 months, p = 0.022) levels were significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) outcomes, while the use of steroids did not show a significant difference in OS (15.5 vs. 15.4 months, p = 0.685) between groups. Similarly, no notable disparity in OS was observed between patients treated withCOX-2 inhibitors and those who were not (13.8 vs. 11.0 months, p = 0.054). CONCLUSION: Lower levels of NLR and CRP/ALB prior to treatment were linked to better effectiveness and OS in immunotherapy for advanced ESCC. The study did not identify a significant relationship between OS in patients with esophageal cancer and the use of either steroids or COX-2 inhibitors.