Nivolumab for Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Tertiary Centre's...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunotherapy
• Head and Neck Cancer

Background:

• Nivolumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, is approved for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC).
• Real-world data is crucial for understanding treatment effectiveness and safety in diverse patient populations.
• The CHECKMATE-141 trial established nivolumab's efficacy in R/M HNSCC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the real-world demographics and efficacy of nivolumab in Canadian patients with R/M HNSCC.
• To assess the safety and adverse event profile of nivolumab in this patient cohort.
• To compare real-world outcomes with those reported in the pivotal CHECKMATE-141 trial.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 34 patients treated with nivolumab for R/M HNSCC from 2017 to 2020.
• Data abstraction included patient demographics, prior treatments, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and immune-related adverse events (irAEs).
• Analysis focused on a single, high-volume Canadian cancer center.

Main Results:

• The median patient age was 61; 24% were female, and 62% were current/former smokers. Most patients had received prior surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
• Six-month OS was 38% and 12-month OS was 23%. Six-month PFS was 33% and 12-month PFS was 22%.
• Eighteen percent of patients experienced irAEs, predominantly pneumonitis and endocrine events, mostly grade 1-2.

Conclusions:

• Nivolumab demonstrated a manageable adverse event profile in this Canadian real-world R/M HNSCC cohort.
• Observed survival rates were lower compared to the CHECKMATE-141 trial.
• Further investigation is warranted to understand factors contributing to survival differences in real-world settings.