Advances in nonsurgical treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma requires a multidisciplinary approach, including surgery followed by radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy, or definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The application of induction chemotherapy remains controversial. Cetuximab has achieved satisfactory results in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Immunocheckpoint inhibitors against the receptor programmed death-1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) have demonstrated clinical efficacy in head and neck squamous carcinoma. However, only a small subset of patients can benefit from anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 monotherapy. To improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy, combined of immunotherapy and other treatments has become an alternative strategy. Key words: Head and neck neoplasms; Radiotherapy; Cetuximab; Immunotherapy; Chemotherapy