GROUPE ONCOLOGIE RADIOTHERAPIE TETE COU

• Recent phase 3 trials KEYNOTE-412 and JAVELIN Head and Neck 100 failed to show survival benefits when adding immunotherapy to chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced head and neck cancer, prompting researchers to investigate alternative treatment sequences. • Emerging data from phase 2 trials suggests that sequential rather than concurrent immunotherapy administration may be more effective, with neoadjuvant pembrolizumab showing promising pathological response rates and improved disease-free survival. • The phase 3 KEYNOTE-689 trial recently demonstrated statistically significant improvement in event-free survival with perioperative pembrolizumab, potentially establishing a new standard of care for resectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The Phase 3 NIVOPOSTOP trial demonstrated that adding nivolumab to standard cisplatin-radiotherapy significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with resected, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (LA-SCCHN).