ESMO World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2022

The anti-PD-1 antibody tislelizumab is an effective first-line treatment for advanced oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, according to data from a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial. Harry Yoon (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA) presented interim results from the RATIONALE-306 trial, in which 649 patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive tislelizumab 200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks plus investigator's choice of chemotherapy (n=326) or placebo plus chemotherapy (n=323). At the interim analysis (median follow-up 16·3 months in the tislelizumab group and 9·8 months in the placebo group), overall survival (primary endpoint) was significantly longer with tislelizumab than with placebo (median 17·3 months vs 10·6 months; hazard ratio [HR] 0·66 [95% CI 0·54–0·80]; p<0·0001). Rates of treatment-emergent adverse events were similar between the groups, and no new safety signals were observed.