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. 2023 Aug;45(8):2149-2154.
doi: 10.1002/hed.27419. Epub 2023 Jun 5.

Immunotherapy response in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck with cranial nerve involvement

Nerea Lopetegui-Lia  1 , Danai Dima  1 , David Scott Buchberger  2 , Anirudh Yalamanchali  3 , Bennett Osantowski  3 , Mariah Ondeck  3 , Robert Roman Lorenz  4 , Brandon Prendes  4 , Jamie Ku  4 , Eric Lamarre  4 , Joseph Scharpf  4 , Natalie Lea Silver  4 , Larisa Schwartzman  1 , Jessica Lyn Geiger  1 , Neil McIver Woody  2 , Shauna Rosalie Campbell  2 , Shlomo A Koyfman  2 , Emrullah Yilmaz  1
Affiliations

Immunotherapy response in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck with cranial nerve involvement

Nerea Lopetegui-Lia et al. Head Neck. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Metastatic or locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) can be treated with immunotherapy (IO). Cranial nerve involvement (CNI) is uncommon in cSCC and is a poor prognostic factor. Our aim is to describe how patients with CNI respond to IO monotherapy and/or as an adjunct to RT.

Methods: Under an IRB approved protocol, patients with histologically proven cSCC of the head and neck with CNI treated with IO were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Twelve patients were included and received cemiplimab or pembrolizumab. Eight patients had CNI at diagnosis, and 4 at time of recurrence after non-IO therapy. Best responses were complete response (1), partial response (7), stable disease (1), progressive disease (2), and pending response (1). Nine patients are alive, 6 of which remain on IO.

Conclusions: In this cohort, IO showed clinical response in 83% of patients, indicating IO can be an effective monotherapy, reserving RT for instances of local failure after IO.

Keywords: cranial nerve involvement; head and neck cSCC; immunotherapy; metastatic/locally advanced cSCC; perineural invasion.

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References

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