ArticleInternational journal of clinical oncology2025
Impact of medications on the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer.
Article in International journal of clinical oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The use of antibiotic, probiotic, and fecal microbiota transplantation in modulating immunotherapy efficacy and survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical outcomes.The oncologist · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of biologic therapies in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced bullous pemphigoid.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2026Article
- Intratumoral bacteria are immunosuppressive and promote immunotherapy resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Nature cancer · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are standard treatments for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (RM-HNC). However, variability in treatment response necessitates the exploration of predictive factors, including gut microbiota, which are influenced by antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and statins. This retrospective study assessed the effects of these medications on the clinical outcomes of ICI-treated patients with RM-HNC.
methodsThis retrospective cohort study included 112 patients with RM-HNC who received nivolumab or pembrolizumab monotherapy between 2017 and 2022 at Nagoya City University Hospital. The effects of medications on overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR) were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model.
resultsAntibiotic administration within 60 days before ICI initiation was significantly associated with worse OS (median OS, 11.9 vs 20.5 months, p = 0.011) and PFS (median PFS, 3.0 vs 5.8 months, p = 0.018). Subgroup analyses indicated that tetracyclines were particularly detrimental. No significant differences in OS or PFS were observed with PPI or statin administration, and no significant associations of ORR or DCR were detected with antibiotic, PPI, or statin administration.
conclusionAntibiotic administration was associated with worse survival in patients with RM-HNC receiving ICIs. These findings underscore the need for careful consideration of antibiotic administration in patients undergoing ICI therapy and highlight the importance of further research to optimize treatment strategies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40465127What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.