SynthesisAnnals of surgical oncology2025
Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Resectable HNSCC: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Annals of surgical oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 3 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Computational and AI-Enabled Imaging Biomarkers for Predicting and Assessing Immunotherapy Response in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review with Functional Meta-Synthesis.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Timing of surgery after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Current evidence, surgical implications, and a research agenda.Oral and maxillofacial surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Development and Validation of a Novel Pathologic Nodal Staging System for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma After Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Integrating Immunotherapy Into Head and Neck Surgery: Bridging Tumor Biology to Perioperative Decision-Making, a Review.Head & neck · 2026Review
- Review
- Lymph Node Metastasis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Evolving Prognostic Markers, Molecular Insights, and Implications for Precision Staging.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- De-escalating radiotherapy in pathologic complete response oral cancer after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy: equal survival, better life, and a biomarker guide.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Optimal timing of surgery in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Immunomodulation in healing: neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy reduces major wound complications and accelerates recovery in oral cancer surgery.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Pathological regression patterns following neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a pilot study.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundImmunotherapy is a recently recognised FDA-approved treatment for R/M HNSCC. Our goal is to explore the safety profile and the efficacy of immunotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting before surgery in mucosal head and neck cancer.
methodsThree electronic databases had been systematically searched through March 2024. Demographic and tumour characteristics were extracted. Primary outcomes obtained were disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), complete pathological response (cPR), which was defined as no residual tumour, and major pathological response (MPR), which as defined as <10% residual viable tumour. Safety outcomes examined were grade 3 and above adverse event, median time to surgery, delays to surgery, and death related to neoadjuvant treatment.
resultsA total of 459 patients from 15 studies were included in the analysis. The pooled estimate of cPR for all the studies was 14.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.0-26.2). Subgroup analysis showed chemoimmunotherapy had a higher cPR 30.1% (95% CI 22.8-38.62) compared with immunotherapy alone 1.4% (95% CI 0.3-5.2). There was no treatment-related death. Chemoimmunotherapy had a higher pooled estimate of adverse events 22.9% (95% CI 11.0-41.5) compared with immunotherapy alone 8.5% (95% CI 2.6-24.3). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that chemoimmunotherapy had a higher DFS compared with immunotherapy alone: 89.8% (95% CI 81.4-94.7) versus 80.44% (95% CI 73.9-85.7), respectively. Neoadjuvant immunoradiotherapy had conflicting results.
conclusionsNeoadjuvant immunotherapy was well tolerated. Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy may be more effective in treating LAHNSCC over immunotherapy alone; however, TRAEs were higher.
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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.