Long-term Outcomes with Nivolumab as First-line Treatment in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer: Subgroup Analysis of CheckMate 141

• Published in: The oncologist (Dayton, Ohio) Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. e194 - e198
• Main Authors: Gillison, Maura L, Blumenschein, George, Fayette, Jerome, Guigay, Joel, Colevas, A Dimitrios, Licitra, Lisa, Harrington, Kevin J, Kasper, Stefan, Vokes, Everett E, Even, Caroline, Worden, Francis, Saba, Nabil F, Iglesias Docampo, Lara Carmen, Haddad, Robert, Rordorf, Tamara, Kiyota, Naomi, Tahara, Makoto, Jayaprakash, Vijayvel, Wei, Li, Ferris, Robert L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 04-03-2022
• Subjects: Biotechnology industry; Brief Communications; Cancer; Care and treatment; Chemotherapy; Development and progression; Diagnosis; Drug therapy; Head and neck cancer; Head and Neck Neoplasms - drug therapy; Humans; Ipilimumab; Metastasis; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - drug therapy; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - pathology; Nivolumab - therapeutic use; Pharmaceutical industry; Platinum - therapeutic use; Squamous cell carcinoma; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck - drug therapy; United States; United Kingdom; Switzerland; Japan; clinical trial; squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck; nivolumab; immunotherapy
• ISSN: 1083-7159; 1549-490X; 1549-490X
• DOI: 10.1093/oncolo/oyab036

In the randomized, phase 3 CheckMate 141 trial, nivolumab significantly improved overall survival (OS) versus investigator's choice (IC) of chemotherapy at primary analysis among 361 patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (R/M SCCHN) post-platinum therapy. Nivolumab versus IC as first-line treatment also improved OS among patients with R/M SCCHN who progressed on platinum therapy for locally advanced disease in the adjuvant or primary setting at 1-year follow-up. In the present long-term follow-up analysis of patients receiving first-line treatment, OS benefit with nivolumab (n = 50) versus IC (n = 26) was maintained (median: 7.7 months versus 3.3 months; hazard ratio: 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-0.94) at 2 years. No new safety signals were identified. In summary, this long-term 2-year analysis of CheckMate 141 supports the use of nivolumab as a first-line treatment for patients with platinum-refractory R/M SCCHN.