Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer – real-world single-centre data

Background and purpose: The randomised clinical trial KEYNOTE-048 has demonstrated a significant increase in survival for patients with head and neck cancer treated with pembrolizumab with or without chemotherapy. The purpose of the present retrospective study was to investigate whether survival in...

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Main Authors: Bogdana Patachi, Kristian H. Jensen, Anita Gothelf, Mogens Bernsdorf, Jeppe Friborg, Claus A. Kristensen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Medical Journals Sweden 2025-01-01
Series:Acta Oncologica
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Online Access:https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaoncologica/article/view/42128
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author Bogdana Patachi
Kristian H. Jensen
Anita Gothelf
Mogens Bernsdorf
Jeppe Friborg
Claus A. Kristensen
author_facet Bogdana Patachi
Kristian H. Jensen
Anita Gothelf
Mogens Bernsdorf
Jeppe Friborg
Claus A. Kristensen
author_sort Bogdana Patachi
collection DOAJ
description Background and purpose: The randomised clinical trial KEYNOTE-048 has demonstrated a significant increase in survival for patients with head and neck cancer treated with pembrolizumab with or without chemotherapy. The purpose of the present retrospective study was to investigate whether survival in a group of consecutive patients treated at our department was comparable to the results from KEYNOTE-048. Patients/material and methods: Seventy-six patients initiated treatment with pembrolizumab ± platinum/5-FU between July 2020 and May 2022. Baseline characteristics were collected, response rates and survival times were calculated and compared to those published from KEYNOTE-048. Results and Interpretation: Fifty-one percent of patients had locoregional recurrence and 47% had distant metastases. Median progression-free survival was 5.5 months, and median overall survival (OS) was 12.3 months in the total cohort. OS was significantly higher for patients with combined positive score (CPS) ≥20 (14.6 months) than for patients with CPS 1–19 (7.3 months) (p = 0.04). There was no significant difference in survival times between patients ± 65 years of age or between patients with locoregional disease versus distant metastases. In conclusion, the results from KEYNOTE-048 were corroborated in a consecutive cohort of patients treated at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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spelling doaj-art-d6d011ab02a74224a15131a7e6df58ca2025-01-29T07:55:52ZengMedical Journals SwedenActa Oncologica1651-226X2025-01-016410.2340/1651-226X.2025.42128Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer – real-world single-centre dataBogdana Patachi0Kristian H. Jensen1Anita Gothelf2Mogens Bernsdorf3Jeppe Friborg4Claus A. Kristensen5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6250-0161Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkBackground and purpose: The randomised clinical trial KEYNOTE-048 has demonstrated a significant increase in survival for patients with head and neck cancer treated with pembrolizumab with or without chemotherapy. The purpose of the present retrospective study was to investigate whether survival in a group of consecutive patients treated at our department was comparable to the results from KEYNOTE-048. Patients/material and methods: Seventy-six patients initiated treatment with pembrolizumab ± platinum/5-FU between July 2020 and May 2022. Baseline characteristics were collected, response rates and survival times were calculated and compared to those published from KEYNOTE-048. Results and Interpretation: Fifty-one percent of patients had locoregional recurrence and 47% had distant metastases. Median progression-free survival was 5.5 months, and median overall survival (OS) was 12.3 months in the total cohort. OS was significantly higher for patients with combined positive score (CPS) ≥20 (14.6 months) than for patients with CPS 1–19 (7.3 months) (p = 0.04). There was no significant difference in survival times between patients ± 65 years of age or between patients with locoregional disease versus distant metastases. In conclusion, the results from KEYNOTE-048 were corroborated in a consecutive cohort of patients treated at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaoncologica/article/view/42128ImmunotherapyHead and neck cancerReal-world data
spellingShingle Bogdana Patachi
Kristian H. Jensen
Anita Gothelf
Mogens Bernsdorf
Jeppe Friborg
Claus A. Kristensen
Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer – real-world single-centre data
Acta Oncologica
Immunotherapy
Head and neck cancer
Real-world data
title Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer – real-world single-centre data
title_full Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer – real-world single-centre data
title_fullStr Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer – real-world single-centre data
title_full_unstemmed Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer – real-world single-centre data
title_short Pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer – real-world single-centre data
title_sort pembrolizumab as first line treatment for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer real world single centre data
topic Immunotherapy
Head and neck cancer
Real-world data
url https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaoncologica/article/view/42128
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