Population-based retrospective study of outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibition for recurrent or metastatic HNSCC

Immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) is a frontline treatment for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC), but questions remain surrounding optimal duration of therapy and efficacy in first versus subsequent lines of therapy in clinical practice. A retrospective population-based cohort study of 4549 patients receiving ICI for R/M HNSCC found that median overall survival was 10.9 months (IQR 4.1-29.1) and was longer with first-line versus later-line therapy, in HPV positive disease than in HPV-negative disease, and among patients with ECOG performance status 0-1 than among patients with worse ECOG performance status. Discontinuation of therapy among responding patients at one year or two years did not compromise survival. The authors conclude that these results suggest that immunotherapy has good efficacy in R/M HNSCC across patient subgroups and lines of therapy, which may be maintained after treatment discontinuation among long-term responders.