ReviewRadiology and oncology2020
Combining radiotherapy and immunotherapy in definitive treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: review of current clinical trials.
Review in Radiology and oncology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Use of Contrast-Enhanced Sonography for Therapy Monitoring of Metastatic Lymph Nodes: A Systematic Review.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Pooled it
- Neoadjuvant PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors for Resectable Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2021Pooled it
- Precision immunotherapy for head and neck cancer: therapeutic combinations, biomarker strategies, and translational challenges.Molecular cancer · 2026Review
- Radiotherapy is enhanced by CPH:SA IL-1α microparticles in a murine HNSCC tumor model.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Exploring the frontiers: tumor immune microenvironment and immunotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Discover oncology · 2024Review
- Expanding the role of combined immunochemotherapy and immunoradiotherapy in the management of head and neck cancer (Review).Oncology letters · 2023Review
- Insight on common forms of cutaneous head and neck carcinoma (Review).Molecular and clinical oncology · 2023Review
- Immune-based therapies in penile cancer.Nature reviews. Urology · 2022Review
- Integrating Intrinsic Radiosensitivity and Immune Status for Predicting Benefits of Radiotherapy in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2021Article
- Immune deserts in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A review of challenges and opportunities for modulating the tumor immune microenvironment.Oral oncology · 2021Review
- N3 (> 6 cm) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: outcomes and predictive factors in 104 patients.Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Societa italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale · 2021Article
- Re-irradiation with concurrent and maintenance nivolumab in locally recurrent and inoperable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: A single-center cohort study.Clinical and translational radiation oncology · 2021Article
- Targeted Therapy as a Potential De-Escalation Strategy in Locally Advanced HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer: A Literature Review.Frontiers in oncology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) presents as locally advanced disease in a majority of patients and is prone to relapse despite aggressive treatment. Since immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have shown clinically significant efficacy in patients with recurrent/metastatic HNSCC (R/M HNSCC), a plethora of trials are investigating their role in earlier stages of disease. At the same time, preclinical data showed the synergistic role of concurrently administered radiotherapy and ICIs (immunoradiotherapy) and explained several mechanisms behind it. Therefore, this approach is prospectively tested in a neoadjuvant, definitive, or adjuvant setting in non-R/M HNSCC patients. Due to the intricate relationship between host, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, each of these approaches has its advantages and disadvantages. In this narrative review we present the biological background of immunoradiotherapy, as well as a rationale for, and possible flaws of, each treatment approach, and provide readers with a critical summary of completed and ongoing trials. Conclusions While immunotherapy with ICIs has already become a standard part of treatment in patients with R/M HNSCC, its efficacy in a non-R/M HNSCC setting is still the subject of extensive clinical testing. Irradiation can overcome some of the cancer's immune evasive manoeuvres and can lead to a synergistic effect with ICIs, with possible additional benefits of concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy. However, the efficacy of this combination is not robust and details in trial design and treatment delivery seem to be of unprecedented importance.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.