Tissue and Blood-Based Tumor Mutational Burden Predicts Treatment Response to PD-1 Blockade in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Blood tests measuring tumor mutations can help predict which head and neck cancer patients benefit most from certain immunotherapy drugs.
This meta-analysis of 17 cohorts (n=1,472) establishes TMB as a valid predictive biomarker for PD-1 blockade response in head and neck cancer, showing 2.8-fold improved objective response rate and 42% OS benefit. Blood-based TMB requires higher cut-offs than tissue TMB, with important implications for liquid biopsy implementation in HNSCC.
What the study was
- Study design
- Systematic review and meta-analysis
- Population
- HNSCC patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors
- Sample size
- 1472
- Category
- Diagnostics
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- Head & Neck
Why it surfaced
Large meta-analysis establishing bTMB vs tTMB cut-offs for ICI response prediction in HNSCC; directly actionable for clinical implementation of liquid biopsy TMB testing.
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