Influence of pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy on long-term survival of patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

The aim of this study was to analyze whether pathologic complete response (PCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) affected long-term survival in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.

All patients with advanced HNSCC were previously untreated and underwent NAC followed by surgery. The 5-year overall survival, disease-free survival, local control rate, and reasons for treatment failure were analyzed.

A total of 101 cases were included, and the response rate to NAC was 67.3%, including 17 patients (16.8%) who achieved PCR. The 5-year overall survival (OS) of the PCR group (82.4%; histologically complete response group [HCG]) was higher than that of the pathologic incomplete responder group (45.4%; histologically incomplete response group [HICG]) (P = 0.045). No statistically significant difference was noted between the two groups in terms of local recurrence and nodal recurrence, but the local control rate in HCG (88.2%) was higher than that in HICG (62.7%) (P = 0.034).

Achieving PCR could improve locoregional control and long-term survival in patients with advanced HNSCC.