Treatment-Related Adverse Events and Health-Related Quality of Life Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment for Mucosal Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background Supportive care needs of patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are ill-defined. Hence, known treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) associated with ICI treatment for HNSCC were examined to inform future supportive care services. Methods Scoping review including 98 studies. Results Moderate-severe TRAEs occurred at < 10% incidence, with most experiencing mild impacts. Dermatologic, endocrine, pulmonary, hepatic, gastrointestinal, and constitutional complaints were reported in > 40% of studies, with most symptoms occurring during treatment. ICI monotherapy had less reported toxicity than multimodality treatments. Adding ICIs to multimodality treatment creates a minimal increase in TRAEs. HRQoL scores were low, with little change during ICI treatment. Conclusions ICIs for HNSCC are generally well tolerated; however, TRAEs are common and may carry long-term functional consequences. Flexible supportive care pathways are needed to assist early detection and individualized management of functional impacts to optimize survivorship.

Abstract of "Treatment-Related Adverse Events and Health-Related Quality of Life Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment for Mucosal Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Scoping Review" by O'Donnell ND, Ward EC, Wishart LR et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.70306, used under its Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY); markup removed, otherwise unmodified.