highly significantP = 0.009
The maximum benefit in the CROSS-trial was observed in squamous cell carcinoma, with highly significant (HR = 0.48; 95%C.I. 0.28–0.83; P = 0.009) benefit compared with surgery alone, in comparison with adenocarcinoma, where the benefit was more modest (HR = 0.73; 95%C.I.0.55–0.98; P = 0.037), but the benefit of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was consistent across subgroups, without any significant interaction identified [ 1 , 2 ].