Effective treatments for advanced/recurrent head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma are limited. For cases not curable by conventional local therapies, the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab shows modest response rates. Quad-shot, a hypofractionated palliative radiotherapy regimen (14.8 Gy in four twice-daily fractions), can provide symptomatic relief, contributes to local control and may potentiate the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors. In this study, 15 patients with advanced/recurrent head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma will be treated with pembrolizumab combined with up to three administrations of quad-shot before cycles four, eight and 13. Outcomes include disease response, survival and treatment toxicity. Correlative multiomics analysis of blood and saliva will identify molecular biomarkers of response to immune checkpoint inhibitor and the immune-related impact of quad-shot. Clinical trial registration: This study (WFBCCC 60320) is registered on NCT04454489 (ClinicalTrials.gov).
Keywords: head and neck cancer; immuno-oncology; immunotherapy; pembrolizumab; quad-shot; radiotherapy; squamous-cell carcinoma.
Advanced and recurrent head and neck cancers are difficult to treat. Most patients receive systemic therapies, such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy, with modest rates of cancer control. We aim to test the effectiveness of an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab in combination with a type of low-dose radiation therapy called quad-shot. Patients will receive pembrolizumab every 3 weeks and will be treated with one to three low-dose radiation therapy courses targeted at their cancer in the head and neck approximately every 12 weeks. We plan to measure how well the cancer responds to treatment, how long this response lasts, how long patients survive and treatment side effects.