Multicenter phase 3 study of addition of camrelizumab to first-line chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic ESCC

Standard first-line therapy for advanced or metastatic esophageal carcinoma is chemotherapy, but the prognosis remains poor. The multicenter phase 3 ESCORT-1st study in China evaluated addition of camrelizumab (anti-PD-1) to first-line chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The median overall survival was 15.3 months with camrelizumab plus chemotherapy versus 12.0 months with placebo plus chemotherapy (HR 0.70; p=0.001). Progression-free survival was 6.9 versus 5.6 months (HR 0.56; p<0.001). Treatment-related grade 3 or higher adverse events were seen in 63.4% with camrelizumab-chemotherapy and 67.7% with placebo-chemotherapy, including grade 5 TRAEs in 3% and 3.7%.