Immunotherapy improves efficacy and safety of patients with HPV positive and negative head and neck cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Despite multiple modalities used to management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), disease control remains unsatisfactory. Immunotherapy is emerging as a novel therapeutic approach. This systematic review assesses clinical data regarding immunotherapy efficacy and safety. Methods Data from 11 clinical trials testing immunotherapy in HNSCC were assessed. We performed the meta-analysis to correlate the overall survival (OS), response rate (RR), adverse effects, HPV status, and PD-L1 expression. Results Immunotherapy extended OS (hazard ratio = 0.77, p  Conclusion Our results indicate the benefit of immunotherapy for improving RR and OS of HNSCC patients. The benefit is higher in patients with HPV and PD-L1 positive tumors.