An immunotherapy drug could help some cancer patients live years longer without the disease worsening or recurring, according to a new trial.

The study revealed that pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, kept head and neck cancers at bay for five years compared to 30 months with standard care. It also slashed the risk of the disease returning in another part of the body.

Head and neck cancer encompasses cancers that can develop anywhere in the head or neck, including the mouth, the oesophagus, the space behind the nose, the salivary gland, or the voice box.

Researchers noted that the standard treatment for these patients, including surgery to remove tumours followed by radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy, has remained unchanged for over 20 years.

The global Keynote-689 trial was carried out at 192 sites in 24 countries and involved 714 patients.

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Some 363 people received pembrolizumab followed by standard care, with the remainder receiving standard care only.

Pembrolizumab works by targeting a protein known as PD-L1, which is found on T cells and helps the immune system recognise and fight cancer. By blocking this protein, the treatment helps the immune system fight cancer more effectively.

The treatment is already approved for use on its own or in combination with chemotherapy for patients with a certain type of head and neck cancer that has come back or spread around the body.

The trial, which is being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) annual meeting, found cancer returned in half the patients given pembrolizumab after five years, compared with two-and-a-half years in those receiving standard care.

After three years, the risk of cancer returning somewhere else in the body was also 10 per cent lower among those on pembrolizumab.

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Kevin Harrington, a professor of biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said treatments for “patients with newly-diagnosed, locally-advanced head and neck cancer” haven’t changed in over two decades.

“Immunotherapy has been amazingly beneficial for patients with cancer that has come back or spread around the body but, until now, it hasn’t been as successful for those presenting for the first time with disease which has spread to nearby areas.

“This research shows that immunotherapy could change the world for these patients – it significantly decreases the chance of cancer spreading around the body, at which point it’s incredibly difficult to treat.”

Prof Harrington added that the drug “dramatically increases the duration of disease remission – for years longer than the current standard treatments”.

“It works particularly well for those with high levels of immune markers, but it’s really exciting to see that the treatment improves outcomes for all head and neck cancer patients, regardless of these levels,” he said.

It is estimated that there are about 12,800 cases of head and neck cancer in the UK each year.

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