Dr. Lee on Combining Anti-PD-L1 to Standard of Care for Head and Neck Cancer

Nancy Y. Lee, MD, vice chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the combination of a PD-L1 inhibitor to the standard of care for patients with head and neck cancer.

In patients with HPV-negative head and neck cancer, local regional control is in the order of 50% to 70%, explains Lee. For HPV-positive head and neck cancer, the T4 N2c, which are the worse-comers, the local regional control is also around 60% to 70%.

According to Lee, by adding a PD-L1 inhibitor to the standard of care it will perhaps enhance the effect of local regional control.