The ICR has criticised the decision by NICE not to recommend the immunotherapy, pembrolizumab, as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced head and neck cancer and is calling for an urgent reassessment of the evidence for the drug’s benefit.

Immunotherapy is better than standard ‘extreme’ chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced head and neck cancer and can keep some patients alive for more than three years, a major new trial reports.

Immunotherapy used with chemotherapy or on its own is a better first-line treatment for people with head and neck cancer that has returned than standard aggressive chemotherapy, new clinical trial results show.