Patterns of Response to Immune Oncology Drugs: How Relevant Are They in SCCHN?

Abstract

AbstractDuring the past few years, we have been witnesses of a critical juncture in the history of cancer therapy; indeed, immunotherapy has been introduced initially in melanoma trials and has been gradually incorporated in the treatment algorithm of a variety of malignancies in multiple settings. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), the most widely used immunotherapy drugs, are monoclonal antibodies that target specific immune checkpoints such as Programmed Cell Death-1 (PD-1) and Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-Associated protein 4 (CTLA-4). Response to ICIs is characterized by marked durability, but despite a great enthusiasm that accompanied the results of phase III clinical trials, a large proportion of patients do not derive benefit from ICIs. In addition, treatment with ICIs may be associated with several atypical patterns of response, such as pseudoprogression and hyperprogression. In this chapter, we aim to illustrate current data on patterns of response to immunotherapy with focus on head and neck cancer.