Adding Nivolumab to Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Resected Head and Neck Cancer

Clinical Takeaway

: For patients with high-risk, locally advanced head and neck cancer, adding nivolumab improved disease-free survival, with a modest increase in toxicity.

Context

Among patients with high-risk locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-SCCHN) who undergo surgery followed by cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy, up to 45% experience relapse. Immunotherapy in the definitive (nonsurgical) setting was unsuccessful in prior trials, whereas perioperative immunotherapy with pembrolizumab demonstrated significantly improved event-free survival in KEYNOTE-689. Now, researchers have conducted a partially industry-funded randomized trial (NIVOPOST-OP) of nivolumab added to postoperative concurrent cisplatin-chemoradiotherapy in 680 LA-SCCHN patients without macroscopic residual disease, but with high-risk pathological features (nodal extracapsular extension, positive margins, involvement of …

Reviewing Author

Hyunseok Kang, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPin Therapeutics; Coherus; MitoImmune Therapeutics

RoyaltiesBMJ Publishing

Grant/Research SupportMerus, Remix Therapeutics; NeoImmuneTech; PDS Biotechnology

Editorial BoardsHead & Neck; Cancer Medicine; Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology