Addition of Perioperative Pembrolizumab to Standard of Care in Newly Diagnosed Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

The phase III KEYNOTE-689 trial demonstrated that perioperative pembrolizumab significantly improved event-free survival and major pathologic response in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, leading to a new standard of care. The trial also indicated potential for better neoadjuvant immunotherapy approaches to eliminate surgery in select patients, although the overall survival data did not reach statistical significance at the first interim analysis.