Immunotherapy shows promise in shrinking head and neck tumors before surgery

NCT ID NCT02296684

First seen Jan 11, 2026 · Last updated May 13, 2026 · Updated 16 times

Summary

This study tested whether giving the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (MK-3475) before standard surgery could help prevent head and neck cancer from coming back. It included 67 adults with advanced, surgically removable head and neck cancer. The main goal was to see if the drug could reduce tumor recurrence and spread within one year after surgery.

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Dana Farber Cancer Institute

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

    New York, New York, 10065, United States

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States

Conditions

Explore the condition pages connected to this study.