Abstract
Head and neck cancers (HNC) represent a heterogeneous cluster of aggressive malignancies that account for 3% of all cancer cases in the UK. HNC is increasing in frequency particularly in the developing world, which is related to changes in risk factors. Unfortunately, the mortality rate is high, which is chiefly attributed to late diagnosis at stages where traditional treatments fail. Cancer immunotherapy has achieved great successes in anti-tumor therapy. Checkpoint inhibitor (CI) antibodies enhance anti-tumor activity by blocking inhibitory receptors to drive tumor-specific T and NK cell effector responses. Since their introduction in 2011, CI antibodies have been approved for many cancer types including HNC. Here, we examine the development of CI therapies and look forward to future developments for treatment of HNC with CI therapies.
Highlights
The notion of boosting anti-tumor immunity as a means of treating cancer has been escalated by the recent unveiling of exciting new immunotherapies including the checkpoint inhibitor (CI) antibodies [1]
In 2016, two anti-Programmed death-1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitor monoclonal antibodies, pembrolizumab and nivolumab provided new options for cisplatin resistant recurring or metastatic HNSCC following accelerated FDA approval based on encouraging clinical trial data [16, 17] and precedence of response efficacy in large phase III clinical trials of melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer in which both antibodies had already demonstrated significant improvements in patient outcomes compared to current standard of care therapy [4, 5, 18, 19]
This study revealed that quality of life measures in patients receiving nivolumab remained stable or improved slightly, whereas patients receiving standard therapy suffered significant deterioration at 15 weeks after commencement of therapy [17]
Summary
The notion of boosting anti-tumor immunity as a means of treating cancer has been escalated by the recent unveiling of exciting new immunotherapies including the checkpoint inhibitor (CI) antibodies [1]. CI antibodies selectively activate adaptive immunity to locate and obliterate tumors anywhere in the body and can generate an enduring disease remission [2]. The recent approval of six CI antibody therapies for treating a range of cancers [3,4,5,6,7,8] heralds a golden age of immunotherapy, with the promise of further novel, better immune-boosting technologies and combination treatment strategies to come [9]. We reflect on the developing prospects for CI therapy to treat head and neck cancers (HNC)
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