本研究旨在筛选生物标志物，以预测PD-1阻断免疫治疗与化疗联合作为食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）新辅助治疗的疗效。在研究的第一阶段，测定了50名患者血清样本中40种与肿瘤相关的趋化因子的基线浓度，以筛选可能的生物标志物。我们调查了所选趋化因子的基线浓度与接受该疗法治疗的患者的治疗结果和肿瘤微环境状态是否相关。在第二阶段，我们重新测试了34名患者的所选生物标志物的可靠性。 接受该疗法治疗的患者中，巨噬细胞迁移抑制因子（MIF）的基线浓度与无病生存期（DFS）和总生存期（OS）呈负相关。此外，MIF基线表达水平低与ESCC治疗的更好肿瘤微环境相关。另外，次要发现是有效治疗会降低MIF的血清浓度。 基线MIF水平与新辅助治疗疗效呈负相关。因此，MIF可能作为该疗法的预测性生物标志物。如果在患者接受几周治疗后重新测量MIF的血清浓度，可以提高预测的准确性。 版权所有 © 2023 Elsevier Inc. 发布。

This study aimed to screen biomarkers to predict the efficacy of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy as neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).In the first stage of the study, the baseline concentrations of 40 tumor-related chemokines in the serum samples of 50 patients were measured to screen for possible biomarkers. We investigated whether the baseline concentration of the selected chemokine was related to the therapeutic outcomes and tumor microenvironment states of patients treated with the therapy. In the second stage, the reliability of the selected biomarkers was retested in 34 patients.The baseline concentration of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was negatively correlated with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients treated with the therapy. In addition, a low baseline expression level of MIF is related to a better tumor microenvironment for the treatment of ESCC. A secondary finding was that effective treatment decreased the serum concentration of MIF.Baseline MIF levels were negatively correlated with neoadjuvant therapy efficacy. Thus, MIF may serve as a predictive biomarker for this therapy. The accuracy of the prediction could be improved if the serum concentration of MIF is measured again after the patient received several weeks of treatment.Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.