ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mol. Biosci.
Sec. Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2025.1593742
This article is part of the Research TopicIntegrative Multi-Omics Approaches for Predicting Immunotherapy Efficacy in Solid TumorsView all 5 articles
Predictive Value of CPS Combined with Inflammatory Markers for Pathological Remission of Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma after Adjuvant Immunochemotherapy
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, beijing, China
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To explore the predictive value of the combined positive score (CPS) and the neutrophil-to-platelet count ratio (NPR) for surgical pathological remission in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LAHNSCC) who have undergone neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy (NICC). Method: Patients with LAHNSCC who underwent NICC and surgery from May 2021 to September 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. CPS, NPR and other clinically relevant parameters were collected ， which includes gender, age, tumor types, multiple cancer, differentiation, T staging, N staging, immunotherapy cycles and postoperative pathological remission degree. Result: Patients with a higher CPS were significantly associated with a higher pathological complete response (PCR) of the primary site (PPCR) (P = 0.034) and a higher PCR of the lymph nodes (LPCR) (P = 0.085). Specifically, patients with a CPS of ≥ 20 demonstrated a higher rate of severe pathologic tumor response (PTR), with values of 80.8% compared to 66.7% and 50%. Notably, even patients with a CPS < 1 had a relatively high severe PTR rate of 66.7%. Moreover, patients with NPR< 0.024 exhibited a higher severe PTR, regardless of the CPS subgroups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Higher CPS can be considered a good predictor of higher PCR after NICC in patients with LAHNSCC. Patients with CPS < 1 can still achieve a higher PTR. Patients with NPR<0.024 can help achieve a higher severe PTR in patients with LAHNSCC regardless of the CPS.CPS combined with NPR may have a better predicted value for surgical PTR of HNSCC after NICC.
Keywords: Pathological complete response, neoadjuvant immunotherapy, head neck squamous carcinoma, Combined positive score, pathological remission, immune checkpoint inhibitors, Pathological tumor response, Neutrophil to platelet count ratio which includes gender
Received: 14 Mar 2025; Accepted: 17 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ning, Li, Song, He, Liu and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shaoyan Liu, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, beijing, China
Yang Liu, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, beijing, China
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