De-Escalation Surgery After Immunotherapy in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

NCT07320690 | Not Yet Recruiting Phase 3 DMC

• 2 other identifiers: JYKQ-2025-057NCRCO2025ZD-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 356
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This is a multicenter, randomized, open-label, non-inferiority clinical trial designed to evaluate whether downgraded surgery-guided by post-immunotherapy tumor boundaries-can achieve comparable 3-year overall survival (OS) to standard surgery in patients with Stage III-IVa locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who have responded to neoadjuvant immunotherapy. A total of 356 patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive either downgraded or standard surgery, followed by risk-adapted adjuvant therapy. The primary endpoint is 3-year OS, with secondary endpoints including disease-free survival, quality of life, complication rates, and cost-effectiveness. The study hypothesizes that downgraded surgery will preserve organ function and quality of life without compromising survival outcomes.

Conditions

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Keywords

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma; Locally advanced; De-escalation surgery; Standard surgery; Immunotherapy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• 3-year overall survival (OS) rate

  The proportion of subjects in the intention-to-treat population who are alive at 3 years after randomization.

  3 years

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• 5-year overall survival (OS) rate

  5 years

• 3-year and 5-year Event-free survival (EFS) rates

  5 years

• incidence of adverse events

  Through study completion, an average of 5 years

• Surgical complications

  Perioperative

• Totally quality of life, QoL

  Baseline, 1 months (±7d) after surgery and prior to radiotherapy, 2 months after radiotherapy, and 6 months (±14d) after randomization, 1year (±14d) after randomization

Other Outcomes (12)

• Pathologic complete response rate

  Through study completion, an average of 5 years

• Major pathologic response rate

  Through study completion, an average of 5 years

• Surgical resection rates stratified by anatomical subsite and extent of surgical downgrading

  Through study completion, an average of 5 years

Study Arms (2)

De-escalation surgery

EXPERIMENTAL

The surgical procedure should be designed and performed based on the tumor boundaries following neoadjuvant therapy.

Procedure: De-escalation surgery; Radiation: radiotherapy; Drug: adjuvant immunotherapy

Standard Surgery

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The surgical procedure should be designed and performed based on the tumor boundaries prior to neoadjuvant therapy.

Procedure: Standard Surgery; Radiation: radiotherapy; Drug: adjuvant immunotherapy

Interventions

De-escalation surgery PROCEDURE

Surgical planning and resection will be conducted based on tumor boundaries assessed after neoadjuvant therapy.

De-escalation surgery

Standard Surgery PROCEDURE

Surgical planning and resection will be conducted based on tumor boundaries assessed prior to neoadjuvant therapy.

Standard Surgery

radiotherapy RADIATION

Radiotherapy is recommended within 6 weeks after surgery. Patients achieving a pathological complete response (pCR) may be exempted. For the primary tumor and involved nodes, 60-70 Gy in 30-35 fractions is delivered once daily, Monday to Friday (low risk: 60 Gy; high risk: 66 Gy; residual disease: 70 Gy). Suspected subclinical areas receive 45-50 Gy (2 Gy/f) or 54-63 Gy (1.6-1.8 Gy/f). Concurrent cisplatin is given when extracapsular nodal extension or positive/close margins (\<1 mm) are present: 100 mg/m² every 3 weeks ×3, with renal function-based dose adjustment. For patients unsuitable for cisplatin, cetuximab is administered at 400 mg/m² in the first week, then 250 mg/m² weekly.

De-escalation surgery; Standard Surgery

adjuvant immunotherapy DRUG

Postoperative adjuvant immunotherapy was administered in accordance with the initial treatment plan and clinical indications.

Also known as: postoperative adjuvant immunotherapy

De-escalation surgery; Standard Surgery

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 75 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age between 18 and 75 years inclusive, with no restriction on gender.
• Histologically confirmed primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (excluding nasopharyngeal carcinoma).
• Clinical stage III-IVa according to the AJCC 8th edition TNM staging system prior to immunotherapy; specifically, stage III-IVa for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (p16-negative) or stage III for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (p16-positive).
• ECOG performance status of 0 or 1.
• Life expectancy of ≥6 months.
• Received preoperative immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, primarily with anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies or bispecific antibodies containing an anti-PD-1 arm, regardless of brand, with or without concurrent chemotherapy or targeted therapy, for no more than six cycles.
• Achieved complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) on imaging assessment after preoperative therapy, according to RECIST 1.1 criteria.
• Assessed as eligible for de-escalation surgery based on clinical evaluation by the surgeon. Examples include omission of surgery on the primary lesion; preservation of critical structures or functions, such as retaining the mandible initially planned for resection; avoidance of flap reconstruction; or limitation of tongue resection to less than half when hemi-glossectomy was initially indicated.
• No prior curative surgery or radiotherapy for the current tumor.
• Willing to undergo surgical treatment.
• No significant contraindications to surgery.
• Voluntary participation in the study, signed informed consent, good compliance, and willingness to cooperate with follow-up visits.

You may not qualify if:

• Severe underlying diseases making the patient unable to tolerate surgery.
• Current tumor is recurrent.
• Myocardial infarction, severe/unstable angina, NYHA class II or higher heart failure, or symptomatic congestive heart failure within 6 months before randomization.
• History of psychiatric drug abuse or drug addiction.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
• Diagnosis of other malignancies within 5 years prior to study entry, except for locally treated and cured basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, superficial bladder carcinoma, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast, and papillary thyroid carcinoma.
• Any other severe physical or mental illness, or laboratory abnormalities that might increase the risk associated with participation or interfere with the study results, or any other conditions deemed unsuitable for participation by the investigator.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Shanghai Ninth Peolple's Hospital

Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200000, China

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

Interventions

Radiotherapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Carcinoma; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Therapeutics

Central Study Contacts

Yue He, M.D.

CONTACT

+8613501950200; HEY1683@sh9hospital.org.cn

Feng Liu, M.D.

CONTACT

+8618917797783; nuanliu@126.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 3
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: Open-label study; no parties are masked.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Director of Oral and Maxillofacial & Head and Neck Oncology Department , Principal Investigator, Clinical Professor

Model Details: Participants are randomized 1:1 to downgraded surgery (experimental) or standard surgery (control).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 29, 2025
• First Posted: January 6, 2026
• Study Start: January 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2031
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2031
• Last Updated: January 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)