xRead - An Update on Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer (November 2025)

Pembrolizumab in Head and Neck Cancer

24. Troeltzsch M, Woodlock T, Pianka A, et al. Is there evidence for the pres ence and relevance of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in oral squamous cell carcino ma? Hints from an immunohistochemi cal study. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2017;​ 75:​969-77. 25. Tan H, Huang W, Long Y, et al. Anal ysis of PD-L1 expression in locally ad vanced head and neck squamous cell car cinoma and its correlation with the efficacy of neoadjuvant immunotherapy +

chemotherapy: a retrospective real-world study. J Clin Oncol 2024;​42:​Suppl (https:// ascopubs​.org/​doi/​10​.1200/​JCO​.2024​.42​.16​ _suppl​.6074). 26. Bauml J, Seiwert TY, Pfister DG, et al. Pembrolizumab for platinum- and cetuxi mab-refractory head and neck cancer: re sults from a single-arm, phase II study. J Clin Oncol 2017;​35:​1542-9. 27. Chow LQM, Haddad R, Gupta S, et al. Antitumor activity of pembrolizumab in biomarker-unselected patients with re

current and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: results from the phase Ib KEYNOTE-012 expansion co hort. J Clin Oncol 2016;​34:​3838-45. 28. Burtness B, Rischin D, Greil R, et al. Pembrolizumab alone or with chemo therapy for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in KEYNOTE-048: subgroup analysis by pro grammed death ligand-1 combined posi tive score. J Clin Oncol 2022;​40:​2321-32. Copyright © 2025 Massachusetts Medical Society.

journal archive at nejm . org Every article published by the Journal is now available at NEJM.org, beginning with the first article published in January 1812. The entire archive is fully searchable, and browsing of titles and tables of contents is easy and available to all. Individual subscribers are entitled to free 24-hour access to 50 archive articles per year. Access to content in the archive is also being provided through many institutional subscriptions.

50

n engl j med 393;1 nejm.org July 3, 2025

The New England Journal of Medicine is produced by NEJM Group, a division of the Massachusetts Medical Society. Downloaded from nejm.org at Albany Medical College on July 20, 2025. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2025 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.