ArticleNPJ precision oncology2025
Inflammation and limited adaptive immunity predict worse outcomes on immunotherapy in head and neck cancer.
Article in NPJ precision oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05075122 (Phase 2 Multicenter Study Investigating the Tolerability and Efficacy of UV1 Vaccine in Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic PD-L1 Positive), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Phase 2 Multicenter Study Investigating the Tolerability and Efficacy of UV1 Vaccine in Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic PD-L1 Positive (CPS≥1) Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Planned for First-line Treatment With Pembrolizumab
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prognostic value of the systemic immune-inflammation index in gastrointestinal cancers treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC gastroenterology · 2026Pooled it
- A viral-based individualized neoantigen vaccine as adjuvant treatment in resected head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a randomized Phase I trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Integrating Immunotherapy Into Head and Neck Surgery: Bridging Tumor Biology to Perioperative Decision-Making, a Review.Head & neck · 2026Review
- Review
- Biomarkers Predictive of Immunotherapy Efficacy in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Current Insights and Future Perspectives.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2026Review
- Review
- Toward precision immunotherapy in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: lessons from the FOCUS trial.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- Blood Based Biomarkers for Predicting Treatment Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors After EGFR-TKI Resistance in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.Thoracic cancer · 2026Article
- Review
- Tertiary lymphoid structures: prognostic insights and implications for immunotherapy in HPV-negative head and neck cancer.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- Divergent immuno-landscapes: comparing the tumor microenvironment of Indian and Western HNSCC patients.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Cancer Biomarkers: Reflection on Recent Progress, Emerging Innovations, and the Clinical Horizon.Cancers · 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
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Most patients with relapsed or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (rmHNSCC) do not experience durable responses to PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors. PD-L1 tissue expression is the most commonly assessed response marker, but an insufficient predictor of treatment outcome. To identify suitable response biomarkers, we profiled the FOCUS trial (Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05075122) cohort for several blood- and tissue-based markers. PD-L1 levels in the tumor or tumor microenvironment were not associated with treatment benefit. In contrast, inflammation-related markers such as IL-6, sCD25, and sTIM-3, as well as high peripheral neutrophils, cell-free DNA levels, and T cell receptor repertoire clonality, were associated with poor clinical outcomes. Patients lacking these high-risk markers performed remarkably well on inhibition of immune checkpoints with pembrolizumab. Biomarker-guided patient selection for pembrolizumab monotherapy or novel combinatorial approaches-potentially including anti-inflammatory agents-for patients with immune-impaired, inflammatory profiles may be the next step in personalizing immunotherapy for these hard-to-treat patients.
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.