Exploratory retrospective study examines biomarkers predicting outcomes in recurrent head and neck cancer patients treated with NIR-PIT and ICI, highlighting implications for therapy.
Purpose : This exploratory retrospective study examined potential predictivebiomarkers of sequential near-infrared photoimmunotherapy(NIR-PIT)and immune checkpoint inhibitor(ICI)therapy in non-surgical candidates with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC) .Methods : From January 2022 to May 2025, 11 patients with recurrent HNSCC underwent NIR-PIT, including9 who received sequential ICI.Associations between peripheral blood biomarkers and oncological outcomes were evaluated.Results : Thirteen target lesions were treated.The overall response rate was 84． 6％, with five complete and six partial responses.Higher relative eosinophil increase(REI)tended to be observed in better responders, whereas higher absolute monocyte counts(AMC)were associated with disease progression.Conclusion : Sequential NIR-PIT and ICI therapy demonstrated favorable efficacy and safety in non-surgical candidates with recurrent HNSCC.REI and AMC may represent potential biomarkers of treatment response and progression.
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Hsu et al. (2026) studied this question.
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