Immunotherapy Prescribing Patterns and Immune-Related Adverse Events in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

What are the prescribing patterns of immunotherapy and the incidence and predictors of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) in an insurance claims database?This cohort study of 47 365 patients with HNC found that pembrolizumab dominated the prescribing market, and immunotherapy had limited relative uptake since its initial approval by the US Food and Drug Administration for HNC in 2016. irAEs were frequent, and associated with key individual comorbidities, but severe irAEs were rare and associated with overall comorbidity status.Otolaryngologists can use these data to counsel patients, particularly because immunotherapy has now expanded into the neoadjuvant setting as the standard of care for locally advanced HNC.

Corresponding Author: Andrew M. Peterson, MD, MSCI, Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, 660 S Euclid Ave, Campus Box 8115, St Louis, MO 63110 (pandrew@wustl.edu).

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