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ABSTRACT: Purpose
A phase II multi-institutional clinical trial was conducted to determine overall survival (OS) in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with a combination of cetuximab and nivolumab.Patients and methods
Patients with R/M HNSCC were treated with cetuximab 500 mg/m2 i.v. on day 14 as a lead-in followed by cetuximab 500 mg/m2 i.v. and nivolumab 240 mg i.v. on day 1 and day 15 of each 28-day cycle. Expression of p16 and programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in archived tumors were determined. Tumor-tissue-modified human papillomavirus (TTMV) DNA was quantified in plasma.Results
Ninety-five patients were enrolled, and 88 patients were evaluable for OS with a median follow-up of 15.9 months. Median OS in the 45 patients who had prior therapy for R/M HNSCC (cohort A) was 11.4 months, with a 1 year OS 50% [90% confidence interval (CI), 0.43-0.57]. Median OS in the 43 patients who had no prior therapy (cohort B) was 20.2 months, with a 1-year OS 66% (90% CI, 0.59-0.71). In the combined cohorts, the p16-negative immunostaining was associated with higher response rate (RR; P = 0.02) but did not impact survival while higher PD-L1 combined positive score was associated with higher RR (P = 0.03) and longer OS (log-rank P = 0.04). In the p16-positive patients, lower median (1,230 copies/mL) TTMV DNA counts were associated with higher RR (P = 0.01) and longer OS compared with higher median (log-rank P = 0.05).Conclusions
The combination of cetuximab and nivolumab is effective in patients with both previously treated and untreated R/M HNSCC and warrants further evaluation.
SUBMITTER: Chung CH
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9167762 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

Chung Christine H CH Li Jiannong J Steuer Conor E CE Bhateja Priyanka P Johnson Matthew M Masannat Jude J Poole Maria I MI Song Feifei F Hernandez-Prera Juan C JC Molina Helen H Wenig Bruce M BM Kumar Sunil S Kuperwasser Charlotte C Stephens Philip J PJ Farinhas Joaquim M JM Shin Dong M DM Kish Julie A JA Muzaffar Jameel J Kirtane Kedar K Rocco James W JW Schell Michael J MJ Saba Nabil F NF Bonomi Marcelo M
Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 20220601 11
<h4>Purpose</h4>A phase II multi-institutional clinical trial was conducted to determine overall survival (OS) in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with a combination of cetuximab and nivolumab.<h4>Patients and methods</h4>Patients with R/M HNSCC were treated with cetuximab 500 mg/m2 i.v. on day 14 as a lead-in followed by cetuximab 500 mg/m2 i.v. and nivolumab 240 mg i.v. on day 1 and day 15 of each 28-day cycle. Expression of ...[more]