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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment
Published on: April 22, 2019
Treatment-Related Adverse Events and Health-Related Quality of Life Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor
N D O'Donnell1,2, E C Ward1,3, L R Wishart1,4,5
1School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
Background:
Supportive care needs of patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are ill-defined. Hence, known treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) associated with ICI treatment for HNSCC were examined to inform future supportive care services.
Methods:
Scoping review including 98 studies.
Results:
Moderate-severe TRAEs occurred at < 10% incidence, with most experiencing mild impacts. Dermatologic, endocrine, pulmonary, hepatic, gastrointestinal, and constitutional complaints were reported in > 40% of studies, with most symptoms occurring during treatment. ICI monotherapy had less reported toxicity than multimodality treatments. Adding ICIs to multimodality treatment creates a minimal increase in TRAEs. HRQoL scores were low, with little change during ICI treatment.
Conclusions:
ICIs for HNSCC are generally well tolerated; however, TRAEs are common and may carry long-term functional consequences. Flexible supportive care pathways are needed to assist early detection and individualized management of functional impacts to optimize survivorship.
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