DrugEvidence

Diseases / Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Disease

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is a major histologic subtype of esophageal cancer originating from squamous epithelial cells lining the esophagus. It differs from esophageal adenocarcinoma in epidemiology and risk profile, and remains the dominant subtype in many regions. Disease burden is high in parts of Asia.

Trials
618
Recruiting
138
Completed
169
With results
42

Last revised

Pipeline

Phase by status

PhaseRecruitingNot yetBy invitationActiveCompletedTerminatedWithdrawnSuspendedUnknownTotal
Early Phase 1 21 3
Phase 1 1641623136 69
Phase 1/2 161127328 40
Phase 2 593111678156188 295
Phase 2/3 53214 15
Phase 3 1651321414 64
Phase 4 11 2
Not applicable 7326141214 49
Unknown 171227241216 81

Trials started per year

2021
8
2022
50
2023
51
2024
65
2025
51
2026
62

Conditions studied, by phase

ConditionEarly Phase 1Phase 1Phase 1/2Phase 2Phase 2/3Phase 3Phase 4Not applicableUnknownTotal
Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma 36940295156424981 618
Esophageal Neoplasms 1612782161215 151
Adenocarcinoma Of Esophagus 197442887 95
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck 2213712 45
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung 23853 39
Stomach Neoplasms 11331222 33
Colorectal Neoplasms 143443 28
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms 115312 22
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular 912124 19
Neoplasm Metastasis 1102321 19

Most active sponsors

#SponsorTrialsPhase 3
1Fudan University348
2Sun Yat-sen University296
3Peking University171
4Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital152
5The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University140
6Hebei Medical University Fourth Hospital110
7Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center100
8Shanghai Chest Hospital100
9Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital102
10Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Research Institute102

Most studied interventions

#InterventionTrials
1Cisplatin124
2Radiotherapy87
3Paclitaxel80
4Fluorouracil65
5Carboplatin45
6Drug Therapy41
7pembrolizumab34
8Irinotecan33
9tislelizumab31
10Docetaxel26

Evidence

Results reported
24.9%42 of 169 completed
Published
30.2%51 of 169 completed
Primary endpoint met
28.6%4 of 14 analyses
Median months to report
22.5

Documents disclosed

Protocol available
30
Statistical analysis plan
30
PubMed citations
167

Trial profile

Median enrollment
72
Median duration
40.7months
Countries
54
Study sites
4070

Who is enrolled

Adults
605
Children
18
Older adults
617
Healthy volunteers
31

Median enrollment by phase

Early Phase 1
30
Phase 1
40
Phase 1/2
50
Phase 2
49
Phase 2/3
176
Phase 3
365
Phase 4
56
Not applicable
120
Unknown
239

Where trials run

China
361
United States
132
South Korea
43
France
41
Taiwan
38
Spain
30
Japan
29
United Kingdom
28
Germany
22
Italy
22

Busiest cities

#CityCountryTrials
1BeijingChina79
2ShanghaiChina76
3GuangzhouChina62
4New YorkUnited States44
5ChengduChina42
6SeoulSouth Korea42
7HangzhouChina38
8ZhengzhouChina35
9TaipeiTaiwan33
10TianjinChina30

Terminations

Terminated
37
Withdrawn
13
Suspended
1
Stopped for recruitment
2.4%15 of 618 trials

Stated reasons

Other / unclear
22
Recruitment
15
Business decision
9
Funding
3
Safety
2

Reasons are grouped from the sponsor's own wording with a rule-based classifier; the original text is shown below.

Recently stopped

TrialStatusStated reasonStopped
NCT06702384 Withdrawn Withdrawn Never opened to recruitment due to lack of funding 2030-05-31
NCT06420908 Withdrawn Withdrawn The primary reason for termination was difficulty in recruitment 2027-05-30
NCT05312372 Withdrawn Withdrawn Strategic development reasons 2026-06-30
NCT04949256 Terminated Terminated Trial was rendered as cancelled work ongoing in the book of business. 2026-05-20
NCT06560645 Terminated Terminated Sponsor decision 2026-01-28
NCT05462873 Terminated Terminated Business decision and not related to safety concerns 2026-01-26
NCT03114319 Terminated Terminated Business reasons and not due to any safety concerns 2025-07-04
NCT04804696 Terminated Terminated Several clinical trials had showed that anti-PD-1 agents combined with chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment could increase pCR rate in 2024. In order to protect the interest of patients, this trial was stopted. 2024-11-29
NCT06034860 Terminated Terminated Sponsor Termination 2024-10-31
NCT04272034 Terminated Terminated A business decision was made to discontinue further enrollment. There were no safety concerns that contributed to this decision. 2024-08-16

Trial records