Table 1.
Current advancements in immunotherapy for EC.
| Target | Mechanism | Drug or Treatment | Study type | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PD-L1 | Expressed on the surface of EC cells, when binding with PD-1, the activation of T cells is inhibited and cause immune escape | Pembrolizumab | Clinical research | (17–19) |
| PD-1 | The receptor of PD-L1 expressed on the surface of T cells, negatively regulates T cells | Camrelizumab | Clinical research | (20) |
| Nivolumab | Clinical research | (21, 48) | ||
| Durvalumab | Clinical research | (24) | ||
| JS001 | Clinical research | (25) | ||
| CTLA4 | Associated with T cell cycle blocked which can lead the T cells G1 phase arrested | Tremelimumab | Clinical research | (29) |
| Ipilimumab | Clinical research | (48) | ||
| EphA2 | Related to poor degree of tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis in EC | EphA2 targeting CAR-T cells | Basic experiment | (37) |
| HER2 | Highly expressed in EC and associated with poor prognosis | HER2 targeting CAR-T cells | Basic experiment | (38) |
| MUC1 | High expression of MUC1 was associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis in EC | MUC1 targeting CAR-T cells | Basic experiment | (39) |
| CD276 | Promotes glucose metabolism in tumor and inhibits the function of CD8+ T cells | CD276 targeting CAR-T cells | Basic experiment | (40) |
| NY-ESO-1 | One of TAAs expressed by EC cells | Tumor vaccines | Clinical research | (46) |
| KOC1 | One of TAAs expressed by EC cells | Tumor vaccines | Clinical research | (47) |
| TTK | One of TAAs expressed by EC cells | Tumor vaccines | Clinical research | (47) |
PD-L1, programmed cell death ligand 1; PD-1, programmed cell death protein 1; CTLA-4, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4; EphA2, hepatocellular receptor A2; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; MUC1, mucin 1; NY-ESO-1, New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1; KOC1, kinase of the outer chloroplast membrane 1; TTK, TTK protein kinase; EC, esophageal cancer; CAR-T, chimeric antigen receptor T cell; TAA, tumor-associated antigen.