Dr. Succaria on Combination Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer

Farah Succaria, MD, postdoctoral fellow, Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses the potential for combination immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

Immunotherapy has shaped the prognosis of patients with cancer in general, says Succaria. In a study of the tumor microenvironment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCHN), investigators were interested in the effects of combination immunotherapy. Monotherapy with checkpoint inhibition has previously shown efficacy in head and neck cancer, but Succaria says that combination therapy may allow multiple checkpoints to be targeted.

Both the potential immune effects of HPV in SCCHN, and the targetable immune checkpoints in the tumor microenvironments were taken into consideration. Immunohistochemistry was performed on archival specimens from patients who were treatment-naïve to determine the effect of combination checkpoint inhibition. Succia says that she is hopeful that this will more optimally treat patients with SCCHN.