[Latest developments in human papillomavirus in head and neck oncology-highlights from the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting].

Authors

S J Sharma, M C Suchan, N J Galow, M Mayer, S Kourou, A Charpentier, H Abing, A Reisewitz, H N C Eckel, J P Klussmann

Published in

HNO. Oct 30, 2026. Epub Oct 30, 2026.

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer remains one of the most dynamic areas of research in head and neck oncology. While classical de-escalation strategies have been the primary focus of research in recent years, the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting revealed a significant shift toward biologically and immunologically driven treatment approaches. The focus was on new data regarding curative-intent immunotherapy, therapeutic HPV vaccines, innovative biomarkers, and adaptive de-escalation strategies. Of particular note are the results of the randomized phase II KEYCHAIN trial, in which systemic therapy with cisplatin was replaced by immunotherapy as part of the primary treatment for advanced p16-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This study provided the first positive evidence in favor of a PD‑1 inhibitor with regard to the primary endpoint of progression-free survival, while also demonstrating lower toxicity. This contrasted with the negative results of the HN.9 study, in which primary radioimmunotherapy failed to meet the primary endpoint of event-free survival. Furthermore, promising data on Immunoscore-based risk models and therapeutic vaccination strategies were presented.

PMID:
42961470
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 31 Oct 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.