NIVOLUMAB IN THE TREATMENT OF REFRACTORY RECURRENT AND METАSTATIC HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA. THE RESULTS OF A PHASE III CLINICAL TRIAL (CHECKMATE 141)

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer death. More than 50% of patients with locally advanced tumors relapse. Median survival of patients with recurrent HNSCC developed within 6 month after treatment completion does not exceed 6 months. One of the most important biological processes involved in the disease progression is tumor escape from immune response associated with the expression of programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1), which inhibits the anti-tumor immune response. The emergence of cancer immunotherapy made revolutionary changes in cancer treatment. The article presents the results of a randomized clinical trial of nivolumab for the treatment of recurrent and metastatic HNSCC (CheckMate) 141. Nivolumab improved overall survival of patients with progressive HNSCC refractory to standard therapy. It increased the frequency and median duration of objective anti-tumor responses as well as median overall survival regardless of the PD-L1 expression levels and association of cancer with human papillomavirus. Moreover, the majority of patients receiving nivolumab reported no reduction in their quality of life, which enables long-term therapy in such patients.  The results of the CheckMate-141 study appear very promising and require further investigation of nivolumab in patients with primary HNSCC, especially in combination with standard treatment methods (first-line chemotherapy, radiotherapy) or other immunotherapeutic agents.

head and neck tumors, squamous cell carcinoma, programmed death receptor-1, immunotherapy, targeted drug, nivolumab, cetuximab, CheckMate 141