Advances in neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (Review)

Neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA HNSCC) is evolving from conventional chemotherapy toward immunotherapy-integrated regimens; 65-70% of patients present with stage III-IVA locally advanced disease at diagnosis. Current standards include surgery followed by adjuvant cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy or definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy, with cetuximab plus radiotherapy for HPV-negative patients unfit for platinum. Traditional induction regimens combine paclitaxel, platinum and 5-fluorouracil with radiotherapy, and early-phase trials are evaluating immune checkpoint inhibitors to improve organ preservation and tumor control.