Dr. Saba on Emerging Sequencing Strategies in Head and Neck Cancer

Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, director, Head and Neck Medical Oncology Program, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine, discusses ​emerging sequencing ​strategies in head and neck cancer. 

An abundance of research regarding optimal sequencing was presented during the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program, says Saba.

KEYNOTE-048, for example, was a randomized, phase 3 study that enrolled patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Participants were stratified 1:1:1 to receive pembrolizumab (Keytruda) monotherapy, pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, or cetuximab (Erbitux) plus chemotherapy.

Notably, this was an important trial because it established pembrolizumab as an accepted ​frontline standard of care in this patient population, Saba concludes.