Harnessing Immunotherapy in Curative-Intent Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer
Mené sur 714 patients atteints d'un cancer de la tête et du cou de stade localement avancé (durée médiane de suivi : 38,3 mois), cet essai de phase III évalue l'efficacité, du point de vue de la survie sans événement, et la toxicité de l'ajout, à des soins standards, du pembrolizumab en traitement périopératoire (traitement adjuvant et néoadjuvant)
Head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC) can arise in response to environmental carcinogens (tobacco and alcohol) or malignant transformation from viral infection (Epstein–Barr virus in the nasopharynx and human papillomavirus [HPV] in the oropharynx). It manifests most frequently as locoregionally advanced HNSCC and is treated with curative-intent surgery and postoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy or with definitive chemoradiotherapy.1 Yet despite multidisciplinary management, a substantial proportion of patients will ultimately have recurrence. In addition, therapy drives morbidity, particularly in HPV-negative disease, which is associated with a worse prognosis.2 Historically, the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to radiotherapy significantly improved survival and became the (...)
New England Journal of Medicine , éditorial, 2025