GLOBAL TRIAL SHOWS IMMUNOTERAPY DRUG FIGHT HEAD AND NECK CANCER

Pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug, stimulates the immune system to fight cancer, targeting a specific protein that enables the drug to wipe out cancer cells. This is the biggest breakthrough in two decades.

The drug kept cancer at bay in some patients for an average of five years, compared with 30 months when added to standard of care, a clinical trial found.

The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the world’s largest cancer conference.

The trial involved more than 700 patients across 192 sites in 24 countries.

Researchers around the world tested the drug in patients with newly diagnosed locally advanced head and neck cancers.

Of 714 patients in the trial, 363 received pembrolizumab followed by standard of care, and 351 received only the current standard of care – surgery to remove their tumour followed by radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.

Standard of care has not changed for these patients in more than 20 years, and more than half are unlikely to survive for five years.

The results of this trial show that pembrolizumab dramatically increases the duration of disease remission for years longer than the current standard treatments. It works particularly well for those with high levels of immune markers, but it’s really exciting to see that the treatment improves outcomes for all head and neck cancer patients, regardless of these levels

Read more https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/31/neck-and-head-cancer-breakthrough-drug-