Evolving Role of Immunotherapy in Recurrent Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

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Xiuning Le Department of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, and

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Renata Ferrarotto Department of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, and

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Trisha Wise-Draper Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Maura Gillison Department of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, and

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Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment in the past 2 decades, mostly with immune checkpoint blockade approaches. In squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), the initial efficacy of immunotherapy was observed in patients with recurrent or metastatic (R/M) disease who received other prior systemic treatment. As monotherapy, anti–PD-1 therapies induce responses in 13% to 18% of patients. More recently, immunotherapy in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy demonstrated greater safety and efficacy as first-line systemic treatment compared with chemotherapy alone. In R/M SCCHN, the most important benefit of immunotherapy is the significantly improved overall survival, especially in patients with PD-L1–positive tumors. As of 2019, immunotherapy can be used as first-line or subsequent treatment of R/M SCCHN. Many ongoing trials are evaluating immunotherapy combinations or novel immunotherapy strategies, aiming to improve response rate and overall survival. As new targets are identified and new approaches are leveraged, the role of immunotherapy in R/M SCCHN continues to evolve.

Submitted January 22, 2020; accepted for publication May 12, 2020.

Disclosures: Dr. Le has disclosed that she receives consulting fees from Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, EMD Serono, and grant/research support from Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr. Ferrarotto has disclosed that she receives consulting fees from Regeneron-Sanofi, Ayala Pharma, Klus Pharma, Medscape, and Cellestia Biotech; has received grant/research support from AstraZeneca, Merck, Genentech, Pfizer. Dr. Wise-Draper has disclosed that she receives consulting fees from Shattuck Laboratories, and grant/research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, and Tesaro/GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Gillison has disclosed that she receives consulting fees from Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, Genocea, EMD Serono, Bayer, New Link Genetics, Aspyrian Therapeutics, TRM Oncology, Amgen, AstraZeneca, and Celgene, and grant/research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.

Correspondence: Maura Gillison, MD, PhD, Department of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030. Email: mgillison@mdanderson.org
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