Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy plus afatinib yields high pathologic response in head and neck cancer
This single-arm phase 2 trial offers pharmacists early efficacy and tolerability data on adding an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor to neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
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