The purpose of this study is to explore the efficiency and safety of anti-Programmed death-1 (PD-1) immunotherapy, tislelizumab, combined with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), afatinib as a new neoadjuvant treatment regimen for patients with resectable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the most common malignancy of the head and neck. More than 60% of patients with HNSCC have locally advanced or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, with a 5-year overall survival rate of less than 60%. The clinical outcomes of those patients still need to be improved. Neoadjuvant therapy theoretically can reduce tumor volume, increase organ retention rate, and reduce distant metastasis rate. However, in addition to nasopharyngeal carcinoma, results from several phase III clinical trials have not proved a significant survival benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with resectable HNSCC. It is urgent to explore new neoadjuvant treatment options to improve the prognosis of patients with HNSCC. Immunotherapy such as PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have shown excellent efficiency in the treatment of malignancies. Anti-PD-1 therapy is approved as the first-line treatment of recurrent/metastatic HNSCC. Neoadjuvant immunotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced and resectable HNSCC has been demonstrated to be feasible in some trials. Afatinib, as an irreversible ErbB tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), has been used as the second-line treatment for recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC. However, there is a lack of high-level evidence-based medical evidence for the use of afatinib in preoperative therapy for HNSCC. A previous study published in 2018 confirmed that afatinib can be administered safely before surgery. In summary, the investigators designed this study to explore the efficiency and safety of anti-PD1 immunotherapy, tislelizumab, combined with EGFR-TKI, afatinib as a new neoadjuvant treatment regimen for patients with resectable HNSCC, aiming to provide a new treatment option for those patients.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
23
200mg IV Q3W
30mg PO QD
Xingchen Peng
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Major Pathologic Response
Major Pathologic Response (MPR) was defined as fewer than 10% viable tumor cells.
Time frame: Time of surgery
Pathologic Complete Response
Pathologic Complete Response (pCR) was defined as the absence of viable tumor cells.
Time frame: Time of surgery
Objective Response Rate
Objective Response Rate (ORR) was defined as the percentage of participants with a best overall response of CR or PR using RECIST Criteria.
Time frame: Up to 8 weeks
Adverse events
Adverse events were defined as the number of participants with adverse events using CTCAE Criteria or with an unplanned surgery delay.
Time frame: Up to 12 weeks
Disease-free Survival
Disease-free Survival (DFS) was defined as the time from the administration of the first dose to first disease progression or death.
Time frame: 1 year
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.