Single-Arm Exploratory Study of PD-L1 Antibody Plus Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Launched by XIUPING DING · Jun 27, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a new treatment approach for people with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, a type of cancer found in the mouth, throat, or voice box. The study combines a medicine called Adebrelimab, which helps the immune system fight cancer, with chemotherapy drugs (docetaxel and cisplatin) before surgery. The goal is to see if this combination can shrink the tumor and improve outcomes after surgery.

People eligible for this study are adults diagnosed with this type of head and neck cancer at certain advanced stages (III to IVB) who have not yet received any major cancer treatment. Participants need to be in generally good health with working organs and able to undergo surgery. If they join the study, they will receive the combination treatment for 1 to 4 weeks, then have surgery to remove the tumor, followed by regular check-ups to monitor their recovery and health. It’s important to note that women and men who can have children must use birth control during and for several months after the treatment to avoid pregnancy. The study is currently recruiting patients and aims to better understand how this new treatment might help people with this serious cancer.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma diagnosed by histology or cytology;
• • 2. Have not received systematic treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the past;
• • 3. According to the AJCC TNM staging system, it is divided into stages III-IVB;
• • 4. ECOG score: 0-1 point;
• • 5. Expected survival period ≥ 12 weeks;
• • 6. The main organ functions well and the laboratory test data meets the following standards: (1) Blood routine: absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 × 109/L (or greater than the lower limit of normal laboratory values in the research center), platelet count ≥ 100 × 109/L, hemoglobin ≥ 90g/L; (2) Liver function: serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times the upper limit of the standard value (ULN), AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN. If the patient has liver metastasis, this standard is ≤ 5 times ULN; (3) Renal function: CrCl ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (calculated according to the Cockcroft Gault formula);
• • 7. Female subjects with fertility, as well as male subjects with partners who are fertility women, are required to use a medically approved contraceptive measure (such as intrauterine device, contraceptive pill, or condom) during the study treatment period, at least 6 months after the last use of adebelimab, and at least 6 months after the last use of chemotherapy;
• • 8. Voluntarily join this study, sign the informed consent form, have good compliance, and cooperate with follow-up.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. There is uncontrollable pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, or peritoneal effusion that requires repeated drainage;
• • 2. Have a history of allergies to any components of Adabelimab in the past;
• * 3. Have received any of the following treatments:
• • 1. Received any other investigational drug within 4 weeks prior to the first use of the investigational drug or had a half-life of no more than 5 from the last investigational drug;
• • 2. Simultaneously enrolled in another clinical study, unless it is an observational (non interventional) clinical study or an interventional clinical study follow-up;
• • 3. Received anti-tumor therapy (including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, endocrine therapy, targeted therapy, biologic therapy, or tumor embolization) within 2 weeks prior to the first use of the investigational drug;
• • 4. Subjects who need to receive corticosteroids (equivalent to\>10mg prednisone per day) within 2 weeks prior to the first use of the study drug. Allow the use of hormones for routine chemotherapy pretreatment without the need for dose adjustment. Other special circumstances require communication with the researcher. In the absence of active autoimmune diseases, inhalation or local use of steroids and corticosteroids with a dosage greater than 10mg/day of prednisone efficacy dose are allowed as substitutes for adrenal cortex hormones;
• • 5. Individuals who have received anti-tumor vaccines or have received live vaccines within 4 weeks prior to the first administration of the study drug;
• • 6. Having undergone major surgery or suffered severe trauma within 4 weeks prior to the first use of the investigational drug;
• • 7. Patients who have received previous treatment with paclitaxel drugs;
• • 4. The toxicity of previous anti-tumor treatments has not recovered to ≤ CTCAE 5.0 Grade 1 (excluding hair loss) or the level specified in the inclusion/exclusion criteria;
• • 5. Active autoimmune diseases, history of autoimmune diseases (such as interstitial pneumonia, colitis, hepatitis, pituitary inflammation, vasculitis, nephritis, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, including but not limited to the above diseases or syndromes); Excluding childhood asthma/allergies with vitiligo or those who have already recovered, patients who do not require any intervention in adulthood; Autoimmune mediated hypothyroidism treated with stable doses of thyroid replacement hormone; Type I diabetes with a stable dose of insulin;
• • 6. Have a history of immune deficiency, including HIV test positive, or have other acquired or congenital immune deficiency diseases, or have a history of organ transplantation and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, or active hepatitis (hepatitis B reference: HBV DNA test value exceeds 500 IU/ml or 2500 copies/mL);
• • 7. The subject has uncontrolled cardiovascular clinical symptoms or diseases, including but not limited to: (1) NYHA class II or above heart failure; (2) Unstable angina pectoris; (3) Have experienced myocardial infarction within one year; (4) Clinically significant supraventricular or ventricular arrhythmias that have not been clinically intervened or are still poorly controlled after clinical intervention;
• • 8.Within 4 weeks prior to the first use of the investigational drug, there has been a severe infection (CTCAE 5.0\>grade 2), such as severe pneumonia requiring hospitalization, bacteremia, infection complications, etc; Baseline chest imaging examination suggests the presence of active pulmonary inflammation, symptoms and signs of infection within 2 weeks prior to the first use of the study drug, or the need for oral or intravenous administration Or intravenous use of antibiotics for treatment, except for prophylactic use of antibiotics;
• • 9. History of interstitial lung disease (excluding history of radiation pneumonia and non infectious pneumonia that have not been treated with steroids);
• • 10. Patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis infection found through medical history or CT examination, or patients with a history of active pulmonary tuberculosis infection within the past year before enrollment, or patients with a history of active pulmonary tuberculosis infection more than one year ago but without formal treatment;
• • 11. Diagnosed with any other malignant tumor within 5 years prior to the first use of the investigational drug, except for malignant tumors with low-risk metastasis and mortality risk (5-year survival rate\>90%), such as basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma or cervical carcinoma in situ that have been adequately treated;
• • 12. Pregnant or lactating women;
• • 13. According to the researcher's assessment, there may be other factors that could force the subject to terminate the study midway, such as suffering from other serious illnesses (including mental illnesses) that require concurrent treatment, severe abnormal laboratory test values, family or social factors that may affect the subject's safety or the collection of trial data.