# Ezra E. W. Cohen

Source: https://onco.cc/people/ezra-cohen/  
OnCo record `ezra-cohen` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Led KEYNOTE-040, which showed pembrolizumab improves survival in previously treated head and neck cancer.

## Summary

Ezra Cohen was principal investigator of KEYNOTE-040, the randomised trial showing pembrolizumab improves overall survival over standard chemotherapy in platinum-refractory head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and led the SITC consensus on immunotherapy in the disease. He has also led targeted therapy trials in thyroid cancer and chairs the head and neck section of major cooperative groups.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: head-and-neck; immunotherapy
- Role: Professor of Medicine and Chief of Hematology-Oncology, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
- Specialisms: Head and neck cancer; Immunotherapy; Thyroid cancer; Precision oncology

## Sources

- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Cohen%20EEW%5BAuthor%5D%20head%20neck%20pembrolizumab

## Connected records

- cancers: [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/), [Thyroid cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/thyroid/)
- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- targets: [PD-1](https://onco.cc/targets/pd1/)
- drugs: [Pembrolizumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/pembrolizumab/)
- institutions: [UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/ucsd-moores/)
- journals: [Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer](https://onco.cc/journals/jitc/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/ezra-cohen.json