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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Head and Neck Cancer
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1450830
This article is part of the Research Topic Neoadjuvant Therapy in HNSCC View all articles

Efficacy of PD-1 inhibitor with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in hypopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer

Provisionally accepted
Xue-Ying Liu Xue-Ying Liu 1Han-Jing Shang-Guan Han-Jing Shang-Guan 1Wei Zhang Wei Zhang 2Shuai Chen Shuai Chen 1*Xianyang Luo Xianyang Luo 1*
  • 1 First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
  • 2 Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: This study is aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PD-1 inhibitors combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced hypopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer prior to surgical resection. Methods: This retrospective analysis included 42 patients diagnosed with locally advanced hypopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer. The efficacy, safety, survival, and laryngeal preservation rate were evaluated. Results: A total of 42 patients were included in this retrospective analysis, of whom 28 had hypopharyngeal cancer and 14 had oropharyngeal cancer. Of the 42 patients, 14 (33.3%) achieved a pathological complete response (PCR) at the primary site, 20 (47.6%) achieved a major pathological response (MPR), and 8 (19%) had an incomplete pathological response (IPR) at the primary lesion. A PCR at both the primary site and the neck lymph nodes was observed in 9 patients (21.4%). The laryngeal preservation rate was 92.9% (26/28) in patients with hypopharyngeal cancer. The median follow-up time was 10.5 months. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 26.42 months (95% CI, 23.416–29.424), and the median overall survival (OS) was 27.1 months (95% CI, 24.316–29.884). The 1-year PFS rate was 83.1%, and the 1-year OS rate was 85.9%. Conclusion: Combination therapy with PD-1 inhibitors and neoadjuvant chemotherapy has demonstrated superior efficacy and safety as a preoperative treatment for locally advanced hypopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer. Notably, this treatment regimen does not increase the risk of severe postoperative complications and has shown promising results in improving laryngeal preservation rates.

    Keywords: PD-1 inhibitor, oropharyngeal cancer, Hypopharyngeal cancer, Laryngeal preservation, Neoadjuvant chemotherapy

    Received: 18 Jun 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Shang-Guan, Zhang, Chen and Luo. 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:
    Shuai Chen, First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
    Xianyang Luo, First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.