This Medudy course is a video tutorial for physicians on the topic “Esophageal Cancer 2026 – From Locally Advanced to Metastatic Settings.”
Prof. Dr. Sylvie Lorenzen, senior physician at the Department of Internal Medicine III at the Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, with a clinical focus on gastrointestinal tumors, provides an overview in this video of the current guideline-based treatment of esophageal cancer in 2026.
The focus is on stage- and histology-dependent treatment decisions based on three key factors: disease stage, histology, and predictive biomarkers. In the locally advanced, non-metastatic setting, curative-intent multimodal approaches are discussed—including perioperative chemoimmunotherapy with durvalumab and FLOT (D-FLOT) for adenocarcinoma, preoperative chemoradiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma, and adjuvant immunotherapy with nivolumab following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CheckMate-577). Current study data are also clinically contextualized.
In the advanced or metastatic setting, biomarker-guided first-line strategies are presented—with a focus on PD-L1, mismatch repair deficiency (MSI-H), as well as HER2 and Claudin-18.2. Evidence from KEYNOTE-590 and the current European indications for pembrolizumab and other immuno-oncology options are discussed.
Note: All “speakers” appearing in the Medudy videos are AI-based avatars used to enhance the educational value of the videos. The individuals on whom the avatars are based have explicitly consented to their use. All content is based on high-quality scientific sources and is created and reviewed by the Medudy medical team.
This course was made possible with the generous support of MSD.
At the end of this training you will know:
- The key factors in determining treatment for esophageal cancer
- multimodal treatment pathways in the locally advanced setting
- the relevant predictive biomarkers in advanced esophageal cancer
- Guideline-based first-line strategies in palliative care settings
