Tumoral and Systemic Immune Correlates of Response to Concurrent Pembrolizumab and Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Resected High-Risk Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
Clin Cancer ResSep 15, 2026
Lazar Vujanovic, Pedro Torres-Saavedra, Fei Tu et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This phase I clinical trial evaluated the safety and immune correlates of adjuvant pembrolizumab combined with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in 34 patients with high-risk, HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The study found that higher baseline frequencies of CD8+ granzyme K+ T cells and post-treatment CD8+ CD39+ T cells were associated with improved disease-free survival (DFS).
Key findings
- Patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥20 had numerically lower DFS compared to those with CPS <20.
- Higher densities of PD-L1+ stromal cells correlated with more favorable outcomes.
- Elevated serum arginase-1 was linked to inferior DFS, while GM-CSF, IL-5, and nectin-2 were associated with better outcomes.
- Increased effector and central memory T cell populations post-treatment showed favorable associations with DFS.
Why it matters
Understanding the immune correlates of response to pembrolizumab and CRT can help identify patients who may benefit from this combination therapy, potentially improving outcomes in a high-risk population.