Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Mar;24(3):170-183.
doi: 10.1007/s11864-023-01050-x. Epub 2023 Jan 31.

Immunotherapy in HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Cancers

Logan Roof  1 , Emrullah Yilmaz  2
Affiliations
Review

Immunotherapy in HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Cancers

Logan Roof et al. Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) incidence has been increasing in recent decades. Treatment of the locally advanced HPV-related OPSCC includes a multidisciplinary approach. Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors is used in the treatment of patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), including HPV-related OPSCC patients. There is increasing knowledge of the role of HPV in the tumor immune microenvironment. Therefore, HPV status of OPSCC plays an essential role in the design of immunotherapy clinical trials in both curative intent and metastatic settings. Moreover, HPV has become a potential therapeutic target, with vaccines and adoptive T-cell therapies being developed against HPV for the treatment of OPSCC. Several novel studies are designed to target HPV in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Thus, HPV-related OPSCC remains a unique subgroup in the immunotherapy era.

Keywords: Adoptive T-cell therapy; HPV-related cancer; Head and neck cancer; Immunotherapy; Oropharyngeal cancer; vaccines.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Logan Roof declares that she has no conflict of interest. Emrullah Yilmaz declares that he was on the advisory board of Astellas Pharma

References

References and Recommended Reading

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
    1. Chaturvedi AK, Engels EA, Pfeiffer RM, Hernandez BY, Xiao W, Kim E, et al. Human papillomavirus and rising oropharyngeal cancer incidence in the United States. J Clin Oncol : Official J Ame Soc Clin Oncol. 2011;29(32):4294–4301. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2011.36.4596. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ang KK, Harris J, Wheeler R, Weber R, Rosenthal DI, Nguyen-Tân PF, et al. Human papillomavirus and survival of patients with oropharyngeal cancer. New England J Med. 2010;363(1):24–35. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0912217. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ferris RL, Blumenschein G, Jr, Fayette J, Guigay J, Colevas AD, Licitra L, et al. Nivolumab for recurrent squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. New England J Med. 2016;375(19):1856–1867. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1602252. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cohen EEW, Soulières D, Le Tourneau C, Dinis J, Licitra L, Ahn MJ, et al. Pembrolizumab versus methotrexate, docetaxel, or cetuximab for recurrent or metastatic head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (KEYNOTE-040): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study. Lancet (London, England) 2019;393(10167):156–167. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31999-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Burtness B, Harrington KJ, Greil R, Soulières D, Tahara M, de Castro G, Jr, et al. Pembrolizumab alone or with chemotherapy versus cetuximab with chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (KEYNOTE-048): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study. Lancet (London, England) 2019;394(10212):1915–1928. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32591-7. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances