Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37583698›Full record

Trial reportFrontiers in immunology2023

Efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab with preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with resectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

Kai Wang, Lin Gui, Haizhen Lu, Xiaohui He, Dezhi Li, Chang Liu, Shaoyan Liu, Xiaolei Wang

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Frontiers in immunology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
41citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
16.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

41 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Distinct CD8Cancer cell · 2025
    Trial
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Redefining oropharyngeal cancer in the HPV era: integrating precision medicine and immunotherapeutic frontiers.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Kai WangDepartment of Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Lin GuiDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Haizhen LuDepartment of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Xiaohui HeDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Dezhi LiDepartment of Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Chang LiuDepartment of Positron Emission Tomography/Computer Tomography (PET/CT) Center, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Shaoyan LiuDepartment of Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Xiaolei WangDepartment of Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College · CNNational Clinical Research · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy as neoadjuvant therapy in patients with resectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (LA-HNSCCs). Methods: In this prospective, single-arm, single-centre clinical trial, patients meeting the inclusion criteria were treated with preoperative neoadjuvant therapy with 200 mg pembrolizumab combined with 75 mg/m2 cisplatin and 175 mg/m2 paclitaxel. This was followed by surgery and postoperative adjuvant therapy. The primary endpoint was the postoperative pathological complete response (pCR) rate. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 26. Results: A total of 22 patients were enrolled. The location of primary lesion showed: hypopharynx were 15 (68.2%), oropharynx were 6 (27.3%) and oral cavity was 1 (4.5%). The postoperative pCR rate, was 36.4% (8/22), and there was no delay to surgery due to adverse drug reactions. The rate of laryngeal function preservation was 90.9% (20/22). Delayed wound healing was the main surgical complication, with an incidence of 22.7% (5/22). The median follow-up time was 9.5 months, and only 1 patient (4.55%) suffered a regional recurrence. Conclusion: Preoperative treatment with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy in resectable LA-HNSCC has a high pCR rate with no significant impact on surgical safety. This treatment was found to increase the rate of laryngeal function preservation. However, the effects of neoadjuvant immunotherapy on long-term prognosis in LA-HNSCCs require further study.

Indexed as

Head and Neck NeoplasmsNeoadjuvant TherapyAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsHumansProspective StudiesSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedpembrolizumabHead and neck carcinomaimmunotherapylaryngeal function preservationneoadjuvantpembrolizumab

Identifiers

PMID37583698
PMCPMC10425220
OpenAlexW4385409096

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.