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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Therapy Testing in a Spheroid-based 3D Cell Culture Model for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: April 20, 2018
Unexpected response with palliative conventional therapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after
Nerina Denaro1, Marco Carlo Merlano1
1Oncology Department, ASO Santa Croce e Carle Cuneo, Cuneo, Italy.
Background:
The application of anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) therapies for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has found promising results. It is the first "second-line therapy" in this setting to impact on prognosis. The studies demonstrated overall response rates in the range of 20%. Therefore, HNSCC showed 60%-80% progression at first evaluation with better overall survival, suggesting regained efficacy of treatments given thereafter.
Methods:
We report three clinical cases treated with anti-PD-1 after platinum-based chemotherapy.
Results:
Our case reports achieved an unforeseen response to conventional therapies supporting the hypothesis of restored responses to conventional therapies after immunotherapy.
Conclusions:
We believe that the inhibition of the PD-1/PD-ligand 1 checkpoint may synergize with both chemotherapy or radiotherapy through immunologic interplay, reversing the HNSCC-induced immune suppression.
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