Main text introduction
Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is the most common
malignant tumour in that region. According to the latest GLOBOCAN report
[1], HNSCC is the ninth most common malignant tumour in the world.
In 2018, the number of new cases worldwide was 843860, accounting for
4.6% of all new cancer cases. Because of the nature of this disease,
there are a large number of patients who are at the late stage or local
late stage at the time of treatment. The 5-year survival rate of these
patients with traditional treatment is only 40% [2], and the
treatment of patients with recurrent/distant metastasis is more
difficult. At present, the first-line treatment for advanced HNSCC is
cetuximab combined with cisplatin and 5-FU, but there are low response
rates combined with drug resistance [3].
With the anti-tumour effect of immunotherapy in non-small cell lung
cancer and other tumours, the study of immunosuppressive checkpoint
inhibitors in HNSCC has become a popular research topic at the present
time. In addition, Nivolumab [4] and Pembrolizumab [5] have been
approved by the FDA to be used in the treatment of recurrent or
metastatic HNSCC in the event of platinum treatment failure. There are a
growing number of corresponding clinical trials, but there has been no
summary analysis showing the efficacy of programmed cell death protein 1
(PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand protein 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors.
This study aimed to evaluate treatment of HNSCC with PD-1/PD-L1
inhibitors through a meta-analysis of all previous randomized controlled
trials to form a preliminary reference for follow-up clinical trials and
clinical treatment.