Immunotherapy with or without radiotherapy for metastatic or recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A real-world study

To evaluate the efficiency and safety of immunotherapy combined with or without radiotherapy (RT) for metastatic or recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).We retrospectively reviewed data of 127 patients with metastatic or recurrent ESCC, who received immunotherapy with or without RT at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute between 2017 and 2021.The median follow-up time was 15.7 months (95 % confidence interval (CI): 12.42-18.99). The median PFS of the RT and NRT groups was 5.45 months (95 % CI: 2.89-8.28) and 4.60 months (95 % CI: 3.75-7.06), respectively (Locoregional recurrent patients gained survival benefits from immunotherapy combined with RT. The combination of immunotherapy and RT was safe in metastatic/recurrent ESCC patients. RT for the esophagus leads to the improvement of dysphagia compared to immunotherapy alone.