Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer

In this episode, Dr. Adam Luginbuhl joins Dr. Gopi Shah and Dr. Ashley Agan to discuss immunotherapy for treatment of head and neck cancer.

Dr. Luginbuhl describes the basics of cancer immunotherapy which aims to harness the body’s intrinsic immune system to target cancer cells. He provides an overview of the main checkpoint inhibitors (CTLA-4, PD-1, PDL-1) and their mechanisms of action. He also highlights new research developments aimed at exploring the role of immunotherapy as a neoadjuvant prior to surgery.

He then discusses the challenges in recruiting for clinical trials whereby he must find the balance between offering promising new treatments with limited evidence and traditional therapies. He states that the main contraindication and side-effect of immunotherapy is auto-immunity.

He emphasizes that the journey with head and neck cancer does not end after treatment. Since the head and neck region is vital to our interactions with the world – our appearance, our voice, our ability to eat and drink – he states that treatment should not only be focused on clearing cancer, but also maintaining patient quality-of-life.