Cancer - including esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) - is a disease of the elderly, more than 60% of all tumors arise in patients with the age of 65 years or older. In contrast, little is known about the biology and progression of cancers in these patients, since most clinical trials enroll patients with age limits of 70 or 75 years.~While most patients undergo chemotherapy and/or chemo-radiation in first-line, the role of second-line therapy is less well understood. No treatment standard has been established so far and there is a clear unmet medical need. This is particularly true for geriatric patients for whom palliative systemic therapies are especially challenging.~Hence, the primary objective of this trial is to demonstrate a significant survival benefit of two experimental immunotherapy regimens (Nivolumab monotherapy or Nivolumab/Ipilimumab combination) in elderly patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell cancer compared to historical data of standard chemotherapy regimens.
Cancer - including esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) - is a disease of the elderly but little is known about the biology and progression of cancers in these patients.~While most patients receive chemotherapy and/or chemo-radiation as first treatment, no treatment standard for following treatments has been established so far and there is a clear unmet medical need, especially for elderly patients.~Hence, this study assesses the efficacy and safety of two experimental immunotherapy regimens (Nivolumab monotherapy or Nivolumab/Ipilimumab combination) in elderly patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell cancer.