4 Courses vs 2 Courses of Pembrolizumab Combined With Carboplatin and Albumin-binding Paclitaxel of Neoadjuvant Therapy in HNSCC

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phasePhase 2
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18-75
SponsorSun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

About this trial

In this study, 200 patients with resectable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (T3 or T4, N0) were enrolled and preoperatively combined with pembrolizumab (PD-1 inhibitor), carboplatin, and albumin-binding paclitaxel. The subjects were randomly divided 1:1 into four treatments and two treatments. The imaging and pathological changes of tumor and paracancer tissues before and after treatment were observed. Clinical information, such as pathological grade, stage, treatment, prognosis, serology, imaging, etc., was collected to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 4-course pembrolizumab combined with carboplatin and albumin-binding paclitaxel compared with 2-course neoadjuvant therapy for resectable oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. This is a prospective, one-arm, phase II clinical study.

Main purpose By calculating pathological complete response (pCR) in the experimental group, we evaluated the efficacy (optimality) of four courses of pembrolizumab combined with carboplatin and albumin-binding paclitaxel compared with two courses of neoadjuvant therapy for resectable oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (T3 or T4, N0).

At the same time, this study evaluated the safety of medication, specifically: The severity of adverse events associated with neoadjuvant therapy will be graded according to NCI CTCAE (version 5.0) during this study and during follow-up, and the occurrence of adverse events in the experimental and control groups will be compared. To evaluate the safety of 4-course Pembrolizumab combined with carboplatin and albumin-binding paclitaxel compared with 2-course neoadjuvant therapy for resectable oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (T3 or T4, N0).

Secondary Purpose

1. The event-free survival (EFS) of the two groups were compared; 2. The main pathological response rate (MPR) of the two groups were compared; 3. pTR of the two groups was compared; 4. Overall survival (OS) of the two groups was compared; 5. The radiological responses of the two groups were compared; 6. The operation delay rate of the two groups was compared; Exploratory purpose For the response of enrolled patients after treatment, group treatment was conducted according to the guidelines, and stratified factors influencing the prognosis and treatment plan of immunotherapy were explored according to stratification. The stratification factors taken into consideration are: P16 status, smoking history, TNM stage, tumor reduction (MPR condition), presence of risk factors (according to the guidelines, risk factors are presence of episopercular invasion, positive incisal margin, proximal incisal margin, pT3 or pT4, pN2 or pN3 lymph nodes located in the IV and V regions of the neck, Nerve invasion, vascular invasion, etc.). The purpose of this study was to stratified risk factors for evaluating the efficacy of pembrolizumab combined with carboplatin and albumin-paclitaxel in neoadjuvant therapy for resectable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. At the same time, hematological, pathological and fecal indicators collected in the design of the experiment were collected. Correlation analysis was conducted to statistically analyze the relationship between these indicators and the therapeutic effect of the program.

Eligibility criteria

Qualifiers

18 years of age ≤65 years of age;

cytological or histological diagnosis of surgically resectable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with the following stages: T3 or T4, N0;

According to the solid tumor efficacy evaluation criteria (RECIST version 1.1), there was at least one radiologically measurable lesion; First-line patients: have not previously received any systemic antitumor therapy for advanced/metastatic disease. Patients who had previously received platinum-containing adjuvant/neoadjuvant chemotherapy, or had received radical chemoradiotherapy for advanced disease, if the interval between disease progression or recurrence and the end of the last chemotherapy drug treatment was at least 6 months, were allowed to be enrolled in this study.

ECOG score 0-1;

Disqualifiers

Malignant diseases other than head and neck squamous cell carcinoma diagnosed within 5 years prior to initial administration (excluding basal cell carcinoma of the skin after radical treatment, squamous epithelial carcinoma of the skin, and/or carcinoma in situ after radical excision);

Currently participating in an interventional clinical study, or receiving other investigational drugs or using investigational devices within 4 weeks prior to initial dosing;

Previous treatment with anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-PD-L2 drugs or drugs that target another stimulus or synergistic inhibition of T cell receptors (e.g., CTLA-4, OX-40, CD137);

Systemic treatment with Chinese patent drugs or immunomodulatory drugs (including thymosin, interferon and interleukin, except for local use to control pleural effusion) with indications of anti-head and neck squamous cell carcinoma within 2 weeks before the first administration;

Trial design

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Pembrolizumab+Carboplatin+albumin-bound paclitaxel:4 courses
  • Pembrolizumab+Carboplatin+albumin-bound paclitaxel:2 courses

Treatment groups

192 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groups