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Review
. 2019 Oct 30;20(21):5399.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20215399.

Immunotherapies and Future Combination Strategies for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Valerie Cristina  1 , Ruth Gabriela Herrera-Gómez  2 , Petr Szturz  3 , Vittoria Espeli  4 , Marco Siano  5   6
Affiliations
Review

Immunotherapies and Future Combination Strategies for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Valerie Cristina et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is often diagnosed at an advanced stage and has a dismal prognosis. Nearly 10 years after the approval of cetuximab, anti-PD1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors are the first drugs that have shown any survival benefit for the treatment on platinum-refractory recurrent/metastatic (R/M) HNSCC. Furthermore, checkpoint inhibitors are better tolerated than chemotherapy. The state of the art in the treatment of R/M HNSCC is changing, thanks to improved results for checkpoint inhibitors. Results for these treatments are also awaited in curative settings and for locally advanced HNSCC. Unfortunately, the response rate of immunotherapy is low. Therefore, the identification of predictive biomarkers of response and resistance to anti-PD1/PD-L1 is a key point for better selecting patients that would benefit the most from immunotherapy. Furthermore, the combination of checkpoint inhibitors with various agents is being currently evaluated to improve the response rate, prolong response duration, and even increase the chances for a cure. In this review, we summarize the most important results regarding immune targeting agents for HNSCC, predictive biomarkers for resistance to immune therapies, and future perspectives.

Keywords: combination treatment; head and neck cancer; immunotherapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Valerie Cristina has the following conflict of interest to declare: consulting/advisory relationships, Merck-Serono, Eli Lilly, Servier, Celgene; travel grants for congress, Bayer, Merck-Serono. Petr Szturz has the following conflicts of interest to declare: advisory boards, Merck-Serono, Servier; honoraria received, Merck-Serono. Vittoria Espeli declares: consulting/advisory relationship, Merck-Serono. Marco Siano declares: advisory board, Merck-Sharpe-Dome, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Merck-Serono; travel grants: Merck-Sharpe-Dome, Sanofi-Aventis, Roche.

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