Advances in the treatment of unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous carcinoma (Review).

Treatment options for unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are limited. Currently, radical concurrent chemoradiotherapy is recommended as the standard treatment at home and abroad, but its local control rate and overall survival are not satisfactory. Previously, the expected therapeutic effect was not achieved by optimizing radiotherapy and chemotherapy regimens. Significant progress has been made in the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in treating patients with advanced and resectable locally advanced ESCC, and clinical trials of ICIs for unresectable locally advanced ESCC are underway. Based on the existing literature, the present review discusses the current status and prospects of treating unresectable locally advanced ESCC.