Triplet neoadjuvant therapy with afatinib drives high pathologic response in head and neck cancer

This single-arm phase 2 trial signals that adding an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor to neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy may raise pathologic response rates in locally advanced head and neck cancer, but confirmatory randomized data are needed before practice changes.

afatinibtislelizumabnab-paclitaxelcisplatinEGFR-TKIPD-1 inhibitorchemoimmunotherapyhead and neck squamous cell carcinomaneoadjuvant therapyphase 2 trialpathologic complete response Oncology Pharmacy

Background Information

New chemoimmunotherapy regimen shows promise for head and neck cancer.

Combining chemotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors and afatinib may improve outcomes for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC). The complete pathological response (pCR) rate was 40.6% and the objective response rate (ORR) was 82.5%. The one-year overall survival (OS) rate reached 97.3%. This approach shows promising efficacy and an acceptable safety profile but requires further validation in larger trials and longer follow-ups. Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy with afatinib shows potential in LA-HNSCC treatment, warranting further study.

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Authors: Wei Z, Chen H, Wang D, Li L, Pei Y, Yang H, Wang F, Jin J, Luo Y, Chen F, Liu J, Peng X

Citation: Wei Z, Chen H, Wang D, et al. Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy with afatinib for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (neoCHANCE-2): an open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer. 2026;14(9). doi:10.1136/jitc-2025-014100

Article Links: PubMed · Journal / DOI

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