The effects of checkpoint inhibition on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review
Abstract
Background Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most frequent malignancy worldwide. Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-CTLA-4 anti-PD-l and anti-PD-L1 has shown promising results in treating patients with recurrent/metastatic HNSCC. We aimed to systematically review the literature on immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors as treatment for advanced HNSCC.Methods PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched with the purpose of identifying all studies addressing the effects of checkpoint inhibitors as treatment for HNSCC in human clinical trials. We assessed effects of the treatment with checkpoint inhibitors on overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), HPV-status, PD-L1-status, and adverse events.Results We identified eight studies (n = 1431 patients) with an OS ranging from 7.5 to 14.9 months in PD-1 checkpoint inhibition. Two studies (n = 541 patients) observed a significantly (p = 0.01) and (p = 0.007) longer OS with checkpoint inhibition compared to standard-treatment, platinum-based chemotherapy (7.5 versus 5.1 months and 14.9 months versus 10.7 months). Two studies (n = 411 patients) found an increased OS associated with PD-L1-postive patients compared to PD-L1-negative patients. The eight studies have heterogenous design with only three being randomized.Conclusion Few clinical trials have investigated the treatment with checkpoint inhibition for HNSCC. Solely, two randomized studies comprising 240 patients treated with nivolumab (anti-PD-L) and 301 patients treated with pembrolizumab (anti-PD-L) showed a significantly prolonged survival in patients with recurrent/metastatic HNSCC compared with standard-treatment. There is a further need for randomized clinical trials investigating a putative role of checkpoint inhibition in the treatment of advanced HNSCC.
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Administration of the PD-L1 antibody Atezolizumab shows positive results for all participants enrolled.
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From Immunosenescence and Its Hallmarks: How to Oppose Aging Strategically? A Review of Potential Options for Therapeutic Intervention (2019) · cites this paper as [172]
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- Authors
- Ghanizada, M., Jakobsen, K. K., Grønhøj, C., & von Buchwald, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Venue
- Oral Oncology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-03
- Volume
- 90
- Pages
- 67-73
- ISSN
- 1368-8375 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2913045418
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 8
- FWCI
- 0.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Oral Oncology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Otorhinolaryngology › Head and Neck Cancer Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Studies
- Keywords
- head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, immune checkpoint inhibitors, anti-PD-1 therapy, PD-L1 blockade, CTLA-4 inhibition, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, recurrent or metastatic cancer, overall survival, progression-free survival, PD-L1 expression, HPV status, platinum-based chemotherapy, adverse events
- MeSH terms
- Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological, Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck, Nivolumab, Female, Head and Neck Neoplasms, Humans, Immunotherapy, Male, Middle Aged, Survival Rate, Disease-Free Survival, Papillomaviridae, B7-H1 Antigen, CTLA-4 Antigen, Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
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