[Immunotherapeutic studies of head and neck tumors : Highlights of the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting].
Immunotherapeutic drugs in the form of novel immune checkpoint inhibitors have had a significant impact on and revival of the treatment standards for head and neck tumors. Recently, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) several innovative immunotherapies in head and neck cancer were presented, which might lead to a paradigm shift in the palliative as well as curative setting in the near future.The most common approaches are antibodies targeting the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) axis. These therapies seem to be effective in a significant proportion of patients (independent of human papillomavirus) and show an extended duration of response.In a phase III trial for palliative second-line therapy, the PD-1 antibody nivolumab demonstrated a significant improvement in survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who were experiencing disease progression after platinum-based therapy; therefore, the Food and Drug Administration gave it a breakthrough therapy designation.Further clinical trials focusing on first-line palliative treatment (compared with the EXTREME protocol) as well as neoadjuvant therapies using immune checkpoint-inhibitors are ongoing. However, valid testing systems (e. g., PD-L1 testing) as well as reliable predictive markers for patient selection are necessary to avoid increasing public health costs and to protect patients from potentially serious adverse events.
Klinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde und Kopf-Hals-Chirurgie und Onkologie, Kopf-Hals-Tumorzentrum des UCCH, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Deutschland. cjbusch@uke.de.
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Busch
Kopf-Hals-Tumorzentrum Ulm, Klinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde und Kopf-Hals-Chirurgie, Universitätsklinik Ulm, Ulm, Deutschland.
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Laban
Klinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde und Kopf-Hals-Chirurgie und Onkologie, Kopf-Hals-Tumorzentrum des UCCH, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Deutschland.
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Knecht
Kopf-Hals-Tumorzentrum Ulm, Klinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde und Kopf-Hals-Chirurgie, Universitätsklinik Ulm, Ulm, Deutschland.
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TK
Hoffmann
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000276:immunology*; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000639:trends; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy / Q000639:trends*; D061026:Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / Q000276:immunology*; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; C105992:PDCD1 protein, human; D061026:Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor
CTLA-4 antigen; Immunomodulation; Nivolumab; PD-1 receptor; Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck