Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is experiencing a progressive increase in global incidence. Regrettably, this entity is typically discovered at an advanced stage in the majority of patients, which indicates increased therapeutic challenges and a poorer prognosis. Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) appears to have a significant role in immunotherapy and monoclonal antibodies targeting this molecule have been utilized as a therapeutic intervention. A decade of research indicates that neoadjuvant immunotherapy has garnered greater interest than adjuvant immunotherapy in OSCC. This may be due to neoadjuvant immunotherapy serving as a preventive and adjunctive treatment. Enhanced outcomes may be achieved by optimizing the cancer microenvironment before surgery. Of note, neoadjuvant immunotherapy has been introduced preoperatively for untreated OSCC.