Impact of p16 Status and Anatomical Site in Anti-PD-1 Immunotherapy-Treated Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients

Kate Clancy; Chelsea S. Hamill; W. Quinn O’Neill; Brandon Vu; Jason Thuener; Shanying Gui; Shawn Li; Nicole Fowler; Rod Rezaee; Pierre Lavertu; Jay Wasman; Monaliben Patel; Hira Shaikh; Eric Vick; Anant Madabhushi; Trisha M. Wise-Draper; Kyunghee Burkitt; Theodoros N. Teknos; Quintin Pan

doi:10.3390/cancers13194861

Cancers (Sep 2021)

Impact of p16 Status and Anatomical Site in Anti-PD-1 Immunotherapy-Treated Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients

Kate Clancy,
Chelsea S. Hamill,
W. Quinn O’Neill,
Brandon Vu,
Jason Thuener,
Shanying Gui,
Shawn Li,
Nicole Fowler,
Rod Rezaee,
Pierre Lavertu,
Jay Wasman,
Monaliben Patel,
Hira Shaikh,
Eric Vick,
Anant Madabhushi,
Trisha M. Wise-Draper,
Kyunghee Burkitt,
Theodoros N. Teknos,
Quintin Pan

Affiliations

Kate Clancy: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Chelsea S. Hamill: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
W. Quinn O’Neill: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Brandon Vu: University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Jason Thuener: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Shanying Gui: University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Shawn Li: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Nicole Fowler: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Rod Rezaee: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Pierre Lavertu: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Jay Wasman: University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Monaliben Patel: University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Hira Shaikh: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
Eric Vick: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
Anant Madabhushi: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western University School of Engineering, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Trisha M. Wise-Draper: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
Kyunghee Burkitt: University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Theodoros N. Teknos: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Quintin Pan: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13194861
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 13, no. 19
p. 4861

Abstract

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In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), anti-PD-1 inhibitors are approved for recurrent/metastatic (R/M) disease and anticipated to expand to other indications. The impact of p16 status and anatomical site on overall survival (OS) in immunotherapy-treated HNSCC patients remains unresolved. We performed a retrospective analysis of R/M HNSCC patients receiving anti-PD-1 immunotherapy at our academic medical center with an extensive community satellite network. Fifty-three R/M HNSCC patients were treated with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and had a median OS of 6 months. Anatomical site was associated with distinct OS; oropharynx and larynx patients have superior OS compared to oral cavity patients. Analysis of the OPSCC subset showed p16+ status as a favorable, independent prognostic biomarker (HR 7.67 (1.23–47.8); p = 0.029). Further studies to assess the link between anatomical site, p16 status, and anti-PD-1 treatment outcomes in large cohorts of R/M HNSCC patients managed in real-world clinical practices and clinical trials should be prioritized.

Published in Cancers

ISSN: 2072-6694 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers/

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