Radiomics and PD-L1 expression predict immunotherapy benefits in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Future Oncol. 2024;20(36):2869-2878. doi: 10.1080/14796694.2024.2342226. Epub 2024 May 15.

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the performance of MRI-derived radiomic risk score (RRS) and PD-L1 expression to predict overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma receiving nivolumab therapy.Materials & methods: Three hundred forty radiomic features from pretreatment MRI were used to construct the RRS. The integrated area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (iAUC) was calculated to evaluate the performance of the RRS and PD-L1.Results: The RRS showed iAUCs of 0.69 and 0.57 for OS and PFS, respectively. PD-L1 expression showed iAUCs of 0.61 and 0.62 for OS and PFS, respectively.Conclusion: RRS and PD-L1 potentially predict the OS and PFS of patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma receiving nivolumab therapy.

Keywords: immunotherapy; magnetic resonance imaging; nivolumab; radiomics; squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck; survival analysis.

Plain language summary

[Box: see text].

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / therapeutic use
  • B7-H1 Antigen* / antagonists & inhibitors
  • B7-H1 Antigen* / metabolism
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Female
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms* / immunology
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms* / mortality
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms* / therapy
  • Humans
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Immunotherapy / methods
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging* / methods
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
  • Nivolumab* / therapeutic use
  • Prognosis
  • Progression-Free Survival
  • ROC Curve
  • Radiomics
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck* / diagnostic imaging
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck* / drug therapy
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck* / immunology
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck* / mortality
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck* / pathology
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck* / therapy

Substances

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • CD274 protein, human
  • Nivolumab
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological