The immune system plays a fundamental role in preventing
cancer development by recognising and eliminating tumour cells. The recent success in the field of
immunotherapy has confirmed the potential to exploit the immune response as a
cancer treatment.
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (
HNSCC) is a
malignancy characterized by dismal prognosis and high mortality rate; low survival outcomes in combination with significant toxicity of current treatment strategies highlight the necessity for novel therapeutic modalities.
HNSCC is a favourable disease for
immunotherapy, as immune escape plays a key role in tumour initiation and progression. T-cell checkpoint inhibitors targeting programmed cell death protein-1 have emerged as novel
immunotherapy agents showing remarkable efficacy in
HNSCC. However, only a minority of patients derive benefit for single-agent
immunotherapies. In this regard, combinatorial
immunotherapy approaches represent an alternative strategy that might increase the number of patients who respond to
immunotherapy. Focusing on
HNSCC, this review will summarise novel combinations of
immune checkpoint blockade with other
immunotherapy treatment modalities.