{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Head and Neck Oncology Journal Club","title":"Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy vs Immunotherapy Alone in HNSCC","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":409,"description":"A 23-study, 751-patient meta-analysis asks a practical question: when you give neoadjuvant immunotherapy before surgery in resectable head and neck cancer, does adding chemotherapy actually help?Baratz and colleagues (Mayo Clinic, JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, March 2026) pooled the prospective phase 1 and 2 data across three regimens — chemoimmunotherapy, single-agent immunotherapy, and dual-agent immunotherapy — in mostly HPV-negative, locally advanced disease.What we cover:The headline response gap: major-plus-complete pathologic response of 66% with chemoimmunotherapy vs 18% dual-agent vs 6% single-agentComplete pathologic response (~38% vs 5% vs 3%) and why radiographic complete responses appeared only in the chemoimmunotherapy armThe counterintuitive safety finding — more grade 3–5 events with single-agent immunotherapy (29%) than chemoimmunotherapy (17%) — and why the authors won't draw conclusions from itThe crucial caveat: these are pooled single-arm trials, not a randomized head-to-headWho the likely target population is for a future phase 3 trial: HPV-negative, T3/T4 oral cavity diseaseBottom line: A large, consistent signal that neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy outperforms immunotherapy alone on pathologic response — strong enough to justify a phase 3 comparison, not strong enough to settle it.Source paper Baratz HQ, Hidalgo C, Price DL, et al. Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy and Chemoimmunotherapy Regimens in Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Published online March 12, 2026. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2026.0080 https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoto.2026.0080More episodes: hnoncology-journalclub.netlify.app","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/wW69kG2r-jYQMXR4U9tleugBoTcAFuL6BYoBlLOBcxo/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS84OWQ3/MWNhMGUxODZkMDJh/OTk1NDdmYmExNThm/MWQ1Yi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}