Phase 2 study of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Prof. Kunyu Yang
A phase 2 study at Huazhong University (Wuhan, China) evaluated the combination of neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with the PD-1 inhibitor camrelizumab for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The ORR was 96.7%, the pCR rate was 37.0%, and the major pathological response rate was 74.1%. Disease-free survival rate at 12 months was 95.8%. Grade 3 neoadjuvant therapy-related adverse events were rash, pruritus, and thrombocytopenia, each in 3.3% of patients. There were no grade 4 or 5 events. The most common surgical complication was delayed wound healing. The authors conclude that these data support further evaluation of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for locally advanced HNSCC.
