Fig. 3: Forest plot of disease-free survival (DFS) by subgroup in the ESOPEC-like cohort.

a Shows a forest plot of subgroup (stratified) effects for DFS in the ESOPEC-like cohort, with HRs derived from multivariable Cox models including covariate-by-treatment interactions. b Displays the time-varying hazard ratio for the treatment effect on DFS, obtained from a multivariable spline-based dynamic model (Royston -Parmar), also in the ESOPEC-like cohort. CI confidence interval, CT chemotherapy, DFS disease-free survival, ECOG PS Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status, FISH fluorescence in situ hybridisation, HR hazard ratio, nCRT neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, NLR neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Forest plot displays subgroup-specific Hazard Ratios (HRs) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) comparing Perioperative CT versus nCRT for Disease-Free Survival (DFS) within the ESOPEC-like cohort. Interaction P-values test for heterogeneity of treatment effect across subgroup levels and were derived from multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, each including main effects plus a single treatment-by-covariate interaction term, tested one at a time. Hazard Ratios < 1.0 indicate a result favouring perioperative CT, while HRs > 1.0 indicate a result favouring nCRT, plotted on a logarithmic scale.