Back to Search Start Over

Nivolumab for Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Tertiary Centre’s Real-World Experience

Authors :
Yue (Jennifer) Du
Rui Fu
Justin T. Levinsky
Pabiththa Kamalraj
Kelvin K. W. Chan
Ambica Parmar
Antoine Eskander
Martin Smoragiewicz
Source :
Current Oncology, Vol 30, Iss 10, Pp 8928-8935 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2023.

Abstract

Nivolumab, a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, was approved in Canada in 2017 for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) based on the phase 3 trial CHECKMATE-141. We aimed to examine the demographics and efficacy of nivolumab in a Canadian, real-world setting. A retrospective chart review was performed on patients who received nivolumab for R/M HNSCC from 2017 to 2020 at a high-volume cancer centre. Data were abstracted from 34 patients, based on physician notes and imaging reports. The median patient age at nivolumab initiation was 61, 24% were female, and 62% were current or former smokers. Prior to nivolumab, 44% of patients underwent surgery, 97% radiation, and 100% chemotherapy. Most (97%) therapies were for primary disease. Overall survival at 6 and 12 months following drug initiation was 38% and 23%, respectively. Progression-free survival at 6 and 12 months was 33% and 22%, respectively. Eighteen percent of patients experienced an immune-related adverse event, the most common of which was pneumonitis (3/8) and endocrine events (3/8). Seven out of eight of the immune adverse events were grade 1–2; 1/8 was grade 3. Nivolumab appears to have decreased survival rates in our single-centre Canadian population compared to CHECKMATE-141 and presented a manageable adverse event profile for R/M HNSCC.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
17187729 and 11980052
Volume :
30
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Current Oncology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.1a7be7b7504d494daa77cb02299d0e67
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol30100645