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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Head and Neck Cancer
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1379013
This article is part of the Research Topic Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Cancers of the Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinuses View all articles

Efficacy of Anti-PD-1 Monotherapy for Recurrent or Metastatic Olfactory Neuroblastoma

Provisionally accepted
Yuta Hoshi Yuta Hoshi 1,2Tomohiro Enokida Tomohiro Enokida 3Shingo Tamura Shingo Tamura 4Torahiko Nakashima Torahiko Nakashima 5Susumu Okano Susumu Okano 3Takao Fujisawa Takao Fujisawa 3Masanobu Sato Masanobu Sato 3Akihisa Wada Akihisa Wada 3Hideki Tanaka Hideki Tanaka 3Naohiro Takeshita Naohiro Takeshita 3Nobukazu Tanaka Nobukazu Tanaka 3Ryutaro Onaga Ryutaro Onaga 3Takuma Kishida Takuma Kishida 3Hideoki Uryu Hideoki Uryu 5Shingo Sakashita Shingo Sakashita 6Takahiro Asakage Takahiro Asakage 2Makoto Tahara Makoto Tahara 3*
  • 1 Department of Head and Neck Medical Oncology,, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
  • 2 Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
  • 3 Department of Head and Neck Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
  • 4 Department of Medical Oncology, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical Center, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan
  • 5 Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery,, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical Center, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan
  • 6 Division of Pathology, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center,, National Cancer Centre (Japan), Tokyo, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare malignant tumor of the head and neck. Due to its rarity, standard systemic therapy for this condition has yet to be established. In particular, the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for the recurrent or metastatic (R/M) ONB population remains unclear. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 11 patients with R/M ONB who received any systemic chemotherapy at two Japanese institutions (National Cancer Center Hospital East and Kyushu Medical Center) between January 2002 and March 2022 and analyzed outcomes by use of anti-PD-1 antibody (nivolumab or pembrolizumab) monotherapy. Results: Of the 11 patients, 6 received ICI (ICI-containing treatment group) and the remaining 5 were treated with systemic therapy but not including ICI (ICI-non-containing treatment group). Overall survival (OS) was significantly longer in the ICI-containing group (median OS: not reached vs. 6.4 months, log-rank p-value: 0.035). The fraction of ICI systemic therapy in the entire treatment period of this group reached 85.9%. Four patients (66.7%) in the ICI-containing treatment group experienced immune-related adverse events (irAE), with grades of 1/2. No irAE of grade 3 or more was seen, and no patient required interruption or discontinuation of treatment due to toxicity. Conclusion: ICI monotherapy appears to be effective and to contribute to prolonged survival in R/M ONB.

    Keywords: Olfactory neuroblastoma, Immune checkpoint inhibitor, anti-PD-1 monotherapy, Nivolumab, Pembrolizumab

    Received: 30 Jan 2024; Accepted: 07 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hoshi, Enokida, Tamura, Nakashima, Okano, Fujisawa, Sato, Wada, Tanaka, Takeshita, Tanaka, Onaga, Kishida, Uryu, Sakashita, Asakage and Tahara. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Makoto Tahara, Department of Head and Neck Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan

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