Effectiveness of nivolumab affected by prior cetuximab use and neck dissection in Japanese patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer: results from a retrospective observational study in a real-world setting

Background To examine the effect of prior use of cetuximab and neck dissection on the effectiveness of nivolumab, we conducted a large-scale subgroup analysis in Japanese patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer. Methods Data on the effectiveness of nivolumab were extracted from patient medical records. All patients were analyzed for effectiveness by prior cetuximab use. In the analyses for prior neck dissection, only patients with locally advanced disease were included. Results Of 256 patients analyzed, 155 had received prior cetuximab. Nineteen of 50 patients with local recurrence underwent neck dissection. The objective response rate was 14.7 vs 17.2% ( p = 0.6116), median progression-free survival was 2.0 vs 3.1 months ( p = 0.0261), and median overall survival was 8.4 vs 12 months ( p = 0.0548) with vs without prior cetuximab use, respectively. The objective response rate was 23.1 vs 25.9% ( p = 0.8455), median progression-free survival was 1.8 vs 3.0 months ( p = 0.6650), and median overall survival was 9.1 vs 9.9 months ( p = 0.5289) with vs without neck dissection, respectively. Conclusions These findings support the use of nivolumab for patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer regardless of prior cetuximab use or neck dissection history. Trial registration number UMIN-CTR (UMIN000032600), Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03569436)