# Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab Combined with Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Resectable Oral and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas: A Single-center Retrospective Study

## TL;DR

This study evaluates the safety and effectiveness of combining pembrolizumab with chemotherapy for treating advanced oral and oropharyngeal cancers, showing promising results.

## Contribution

The study introduces a neoadjuvant treatment combining pembrolizumab and chemotherapy for locally advanced oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

## Key findings

- The treatment achieved an 85.4% objective response rate and a 65.8% major pathologic response rate.
- Patients with moderate PD-L1 expression had the highest major pathologic response rate of 71.4%.
- Treatment-related adverse events were manageable with no treatment-related deaths observed.

## Abstract

Objective: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens have shown encouraging efficacy characterized by high objective response rate (ORR), pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, and major pathologic response (MPR) rate, alongside acceptable safety. This single-center retrospective study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced resectable oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (LA-OSCC/OPSCC).

Materials and methods: A total of 50 patients were included. The patients received 2-4 cycles of neoadjuvant therapy with pembrolizumab, albumin-bound paclitaxel and cisplatin before surgery, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy or immunotherapy.

Results: The median follow-up time was 31.7 months (95%CI, 29.4-34.0). The ORR was 85.4%, and the MPR rate was 65.8%. The 1-year event-free survival (EFS) rate was 88.8% (95%CI, 79.8%-98.8%). Patients with moderate programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression (combined positive score (CPS) 1 to <10) achieved the highest MPR rate (71.4%), underscoring the potential predictive value of PD-L1 expression. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), most commonly alopecia, anemia, neutropenia, and nausea, were manageable. No treatment-related deaths occurred.

Conclusion: This retrospective analysis indicates that neoadjuvant pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy is a promising strategy for patients with LA-OSCC/OPSCC. Future prospective studies with larger cohorts and longer follow-up are warranted to confirm these findings.