已发表论文

食管鳞状细胞癌新辅助化疗免疫治疗术后肺炎的预测:ARISCAT 评分与炎症生物标志物联合应用

 

Authors Ding J, Zhao J, Qin T, Liu C, Yang Y, Xu D, Chen Y, Xu Z

Received 7 June 2025

Accepted for publication 3 September 2025

Published 16 September 2025 Volume 2025:18 Pages 12855—12868

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S545333

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 3

Editor who approved publication: Dr Junhao Wang

Jiexia Ding,* Jianqiang Zhao,* Tingting Qin, Changying Liu, Yueqin Yang, Dafu Xu, Yunyun Chen,* Zhiyun Xu* 

Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai’an, 223300, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Zhiyun Xu, Email zhiyunxu2012@njmu.edu.cn Yunyun Chen, Email sarah3808@163.com

Background: Postoperative pneumonia is a common and serious complication after McKeown esophagectomy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), particularly in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy. The ARISCAT score is widely used for pulmonary risk assessment in general surgery, but its predictive value in this specific oncologic setting remains unclear.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 312 patients with resectable ESCC who underwent two cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy plus camrelizumab followed by McKeown esophagectomy between 2018 and 2023. Preoperative ARISCAT scores, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) were recorded. The primary outcome was pneumonia within 30 days postoperatively, diagnosed by standardized criteria. Logistic regression identified independent predictors, and restricted cubic splines (RCS) assessed dose–response patterns. Model discrimination and calibration were evaluated using AUC, Brier score, and calibration plots.
Results: Postoperative pneumonia occurred in 86 patients (27.6%). Compared with unaffected patients, those with pneumonia had higher ARISCAT scores (53.9 vs 37.4), NLR (8.3 vs 4.9), and SII (1379.8 vs 917.2) (all p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis confirmed ARISCAT (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.26– 1.62), NLR (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.31– 2.10), and SII (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02– 1.71) as independent predictors. RCS showed a linear association for ARISCAT (p_non-linearity = 0.794) and threshold effects for NLR (>≈5.0) and SII (>≈1300) (both p_non-linearity < 0.05). The combined model (ARISCAT + NLR + SII) demonstrated superior discrimination (AUC 0.962) and calibration (Brier score 0.152) compared with individual predictors.
Conclusion: In ESCC patients undergoing McKeown esophagectomy after neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy, the ARISCAT score independently predicts postoperative pneumonia risk. Integrating ARISCAT with inflammatory biomarkers enhances predictive performance, enabling refined preoperative risk stratification and potentially guiding targeted preventive strategies. Prospective multicenter validation is warranted.

Keywords: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, ARISCAT score, postoperative pneumonia, neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy, inflammatory biomarkers, risk prediction