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Background: This study aimed to compare the feasibility of nab‐paclitaxel plus platinum‐based chemotherapy (nabTP) versus paclitaxel plus platinum‐based chemotherapy (TP) with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as a neoadjuvant modality for locally resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: Between April 2019 and March 2022, we identified ESCC patients who received neoadjuvant immunotherapy with both nabTP (n = 213) and TP (n = 98) at our institution and Henan Cancer Hospital. The patients in the ICIs‐nabTP and ICIs‐TP groups were pair‐matched (1:1) for tumor location, sex, smoking, drinking, clinical T and N stage. The primary endpoint was the hazard of 30‐day major postoperative complications. Second, logistic models were applied to estimate the risk factors for pathological complete response (pCR) rate. Results: All patients underwent esophagectomy with R0 resection. A statistically significant increase in the risk of developing major pulmonary (odds ratio [OR], 1.182; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.530–2.635; p = 0.683), anastomotic (OR, 1.881; 95% CI: 0.607–5.830; p = 0.267), cardiac (OR, 1.000; 95% CI: 0.426–2.349; p = 1.000) complications after neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus nabTP was not observed. The median interval to surgery was 39 days in the ICIs‐nabTP group versus 44 days in the ICIs‐TP group (p = 0.119). There was no 30‐day mortality in each group. However, there was a slight difference in the 30‐day readmission rate (p = 0.043) and the incidence of hydropneumothorax (p = 0.027) between the two groups. The pCR rates of the ICIs‐nabTP and ICIs‐TP group were 36.7 and 21.4%, respectively (p = 0.018). Conclusions: It appears to be feasible to add immunotherapy to nabTP regimen for locally advanced ESCC. Compared with TP, nabTP plus ICIs can achieve a better pCR rate in ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to investigate the value and efficiency of routine brain MRI or CT in the preoperative workup for patients with potentially resectable (cT1‐4aN0‐3) thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC). Methods: This was a prospective cross‐sectional clinical trial (ChiCTR1800020304). A total of 385 patients with potentially resectable (cT1‐4aN0‐3) thoracic ESCC diagnosed from October 2018 to August 2020 were included. Plain brain MRI or CT was performed preoperatively to detect brain metastases (BrM). The primary endpoint was BrM detected by imaging. Results: Of all 385 patients, the rate of positive brain MRI/CT findings was 1% (n = 4). BrM Patients received chemoradiotherapy, and the median OS was 6 months (95% CI: 4.303–7.697). All 381 remaining patients with initial negative brain MRI/CT diagnosis revealed no brain‐associated symptoms within 6 months. The median follow‐up for patients without BrM was 20 months (range, from 6 to 32). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of plain MRI or CT to detect BrM were all 100%. Conclusions: Preoperative plain MRI or CT is an effective method to detect BrM for potentially resectable (cT1‐4aN0‐3) thoracic ESCC. However, due to the low incidence, the value of brain MRI/CT as a routinely preoperational examination in potentially resectable esophageal squamous cell cancer is rather limited. Therefore, preoperative brain MRI/CT should not be recommended as a routine preoperative examination for ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]