Multinational phase 3 trial of addition of perioperative pembrolizumab to standard care for locally advanced HNSCC

The multinational phase 3 KEYNOTE-689 trial evaluated the addition of two cycles neoadjuvant pembrolizumab and 15 cycles of adjuvant pembrolizumab to standard care for locally advanced HNSCC. Addition of perioperative pembrolizumab to standard care significantly improved event-free survival among all participants (HR 0.73; p=0.008) and among participants with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 10 (HR 0.66; p=0.004) and among participants with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 1 (HR 0.70; p=0.003). Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab did not affect the likelihood of surgical completion.