Supplementary Figure 2: T cell gating from Concurrent Definitive Immunoradiotherapy for Patients with Stage III–IV Head and Neck Cancer and Cisplatin Contraindication
posted on 2023-04-14, 18:40authored byJared Weiss, Siddharth Sheth, Allison M. Deal, Juneko E. Grilley Olson, Samip Patel, Trevor G. Hackman, Jeffrey M. Blumberg, Thomas J. Galloway, Shetal Patel, Adam M. Zanation, Colette J. Shen, D. Neil Hayes, Christopher Hilliard, Ranee Mehra, Karen P. McKinnon, Hsing-Hui Wang, Mark Christian Weissler, Jessica R. Bauman, Bhishamjit S. Chera, Benjamin G. Vincent
T cell gating
Funding
Merck (Merck & Co., Inc.)
History
ARTICLE ABSTRACT
Although cisplatin plus radiotherapy is a standard treatment of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC), cisplatin contraindication is common. Radiation elicits and promotes tumor-directed immune stimulation, which may potentiate anti–PD-1 therapy. We provide the first efficacy report of combined pembrolizumab and definitive radiotherapy in LA-HNSCC.
This single-arm, multi-institution, phase II study (NCT02609503) enrolled 29 cisplatin-ineligible patients. Patients received radiotherapy concurrently with three cycles of pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks followed by three adjuvant cycles. The primary endpoint was a progression-free survival (PFS) of ≥16 months. Correlative studies included peripheral blood flow cytometry and Luminex cytokine profiling.
Reasons for cisplatin ineligibility included otopathy (69.0%), nephropathy (20.7%), and neuropathy (6.9%). With median follow-up of 21 months, estimated 24-month PFS and overall survival rates were 71% (95% confidence interval, 49%–84%) and 75% (51%–88%). The primary PFS endpoint has exceeded the hypothesis and its median has not been reached. Toxicities were typical of radiotherapy; however, high rates of grade 3/4 lymphopenia (58.6%) were observed. Flow cytometry revealed a relative decline in CD4 T cells and B cells, but not CD8 T cells. Upon treatment, frequencies of transitional B cells and tissue-like memory B cells increased, while resting memory B cells decreased. Patients with progression had greater percentages of baseline naïve B cells and fewer marginal zone B cells.
Pembrolizumab and radiotherapy is efficacious in LA-HNSCC and should be evaluated in a randomized trial. The observed changes in B-cell markers deserve further study both as potential biomarkers and as therapeutic targets.