Initial analysis of the synergy of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor and concurrent chemoradiotherapy treatment for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor was proven to be useful for the recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) patients. Though both PD-1 inhibitor alone and combination with chemotherapy showed some benefit for PFS and OS, the survival outcome was still not satisfactory. Some studies showed the possible benefit for PD-1 inhibitors combination with radiation for head and neck squamous carcinoma, however there was few studies concerned about synergy of concurrent PD-1 inhibitor combination with chemoradiotherapy for R/M HNSCC. So, we aimed to explore the potential effect and toxicity of the concurrent PD-1 inhibitor and chemoradiotherapy for R/M HNSCC.

METHODS:

We consecutively enrolled the R/M HNSCC patients treated with concurrent PD-1 inhibitor and chemoradiotherapy from August 2018 to April 2022 in Sichuan Cancer hospital. All the patients received the combination of PD-1 inhibitor and chemotherapy, and followed with synergy of concurrent PD-1 inhibitor and chemoradiotherapy, then maintenance PD-1 inhibitor. ORR and DCR was calculated by immune-related Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (irRECIST-1.1), and Common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE-4.0) was used to evaluate the toxicity.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze OS and PFS.

RESULTS:

40 R/M HNSCC patients were enrolled in our stuty. The median follow up time was 14 months. 22 patients had recurrent disease only, 16 patients had metastatic disease only, and 2 patients had both recurrence and metastasis disease. For the recurrent lesions, 23 patients received a median radiation dose of 64 Gy (range 50-70 Gy). 18 patients received a median dose of 45 Gy (range 30-66 Gy) for metastatic lesions. The median courses of PD-1 inhibitors and chemotherapy were 8 and 5 respectively. After the treatment, the ORR and DCR were 70.0% and 100%. The median OS was 19 months (range 6.3-31.7 months), with 1 and 2-years OS rates of 72.8% and 33.3%. The median PFS was 9 months (range 3.1-14.9 months), with 6 and 12 months PFS rates of 75.5% and 41.4% respectively. The PFS had no statistical significance in PD-L1 negative and positive group (7 vs 12 months, p = 0.059). The most common grade 3 or 4 adverse events(AE) were leucopenia (25.0%), neutropenia (17.5%), anemia (10.0%), thrombocytopenia (5.0%), hyponatremia (2.5%), and pneumonia(2.5%). No grade 5 AE was observed.

CONCLUSIONS:

The synergy of concurrent PD-1 inhibitor treatment with chemoradiotherapy shows promise as a treatment strategy and an acceptable toxicity for the R/M HNSCC patients.

• Authors: Lu Li, Lu Chen, Lu Yan, Yueqian Guo, Fang Li, Ming Fan, Mei Lan, Xin Lai, Jie Zhou, Yecai Huang, Peng Xu, Jinyi Lang, Mei Feng
• Journal: Radiation oncology (London, England) (Radiat Oncol) Vol. 18 Issue 1 Pg. 109 (Jul 04 2023) ISSN: 1748-717X [Electronic] England
• PMID: 37403098 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2023. The Author(s).

Chemical References

• Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor
• Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
• Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological

Topics

• Humans
• Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck (drug therapy)
• Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor
• Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (therapeutic use)
• Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological (therapeutic use)
• Neoplasm Recurrence, Local (etiology)
• Head and Neck Neoplasms (drug therapy)
• Chemoradiotherapy
• Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols (therapeutic use)
• Apoptosis