Demographic and clinical data of pembrolizumab and control patients with HNSCC
| Control (n=13) | Pembrolizumab (n=25) | |
| Value (%) | ||
| Age (years) | ||
| Range | 48–75 | 27–73 |
| Mean | 61.5 | 55.8 |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 11 (85) | 17 (68) |
| Female | 2 (15) | 8 (32) |
| Tumor site | ||
| Oral cavity | 7 (54) | 24 (96) |
| Larynx | 4 (31) | 1 (4) |
| Oropharynx | 1 (8) | 0 (0) |
| Hypopharynx | 1 (8) | 0 (0) |
| Clinical stage | ||
| T1 | 0 (0) | 2 (8) |
| T2 | 3 (23) | 5 (20) |
| T3 | 2 (15) | 3 (12) |
| T4 | 5 (38) | 14 (56) |
| Tx | 0 (0) | 1 (4) |
| Not available | 3 (23) | 0 (0) |
| Nodal status | ||
| N0 | 3 (23) | 6 (24) |
| N1 | 3 (23) | 1 (4) |
| N2 | 4 (31) | 18 (72) |
| Not available | 3 (23) | 0 (0) |
| ECOG performance status | ||
| 0 | 2 (15) | 18 (72) |
| 1 | 8 (62) | 7 (28) |
| 2 | 1 (8) | 0 (0) |
| 3 | 1 (8) | 0 (0) |
| Not available | 1 (8) | 0 (0) |
| Smoking | ||
| Yes (>10 pack years) | 10 (77) | 15 (60) |
| No (<10 pack years) | 3 (23) | 10 (40) |
| Alcohol use | ||
| Yes (>5 drinks/week) | 3 (23) | 11 (44) |
| No (<5 drinks/week) | 10 (77) | 14 (56) |
| Treatment response | ||
| Non-responder (>80% viable tumor remaining in resected tumor) | N/A | 13 (52) |
| Responder (≤80% viable tumor remaining in resected tumor) | N/A | 12 (48) |
Clinical stage refers to tumor stage and extent and size of the tumor. Nodal status refers to the involvement and number of lymph nodes. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status is an indicator of daily quality of life of individuals affected by disease. Smoking status (pack years) was calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years the person has smoked. Treatment response was defined by a trained pathologist who compared resected tumor and tissue biopsy of pembrolizumab patients via H&E staining to determine the amount of the remaining viable tumor (see the Materials and methods section).
HNSCC, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; N/A, not applicable.