Immunotherapy shows promise as a kinder first-line treatment for advanced head and neck cancers
Source: www.icr.ac.uk Author: staff Oral squamous cancer cell (white) being attacked by two cytotoxic T cells (red). Credit: NIH Immunotherapy can extend the response of some head and neck tumours to treatment, maintaining the anti-tumour effects and preventing them from growing or spreading for longer, a study reports. A new trial shows that amongst patients whose tumours were sensitive to immunotherapy, the treatment could keep their cancer from growing or spreading for longer and with fewer side effects than the previous standard of care therapy. A personalised approach to immunotherapy The findings of the KESTREL trial support the need for a personalised approach to immunotherapy treatments, as although these treatments work for a minority of patients, they can bring significant improvements in quality of life for those who respond. As well as leading to long-lasting responses, the immunotherapy durvalumab, on its own or combined with another immunotherapy called tremelimumab, also led to fewer side effects in people with head and neck cancer which had spread or come back. Fewer than 2 in 10 people on immunotherapy had severe side effects, compared to around half of the patients on the standard of care regimen. An international trial The results from the KESTREL study, led by an international team of researchers including scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, offer hope for the development of kinder first-line treatments for this hard-to-treat cancer. The study was published in Annals of Oncology and was funded by AstraZeneca. Overall, the trial did [...]