# CheckMate 141: nivolumab for recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after platinum

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-checkmate-141-ferris-nejm-2016/  
OnCo record `paper-checkmate-141-ferris-nejm-2016` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Nivolumab lengthened survival compared with standard single-agent chemotherapy in head and neck cancer that had progressed within six months of platinum treatment, the first immunotherapy to improve survival in the disease.

## Summary

Phase 3 trial of 361 patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma progressing within six months of platinum-based therapy, randomised 2:1 to nivolumab or investigator's choice of methotrexate, docetaxel or cetuximab.

Median overall survival was 7.5 versus 5.1 months (hazard ratio 0.70) and one-year survival 36.0 versus 16.6 percent, with fewer grade 3 to 4 adverse events (13.1 versus 35.1 percent) and better quality of life.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: New England Journal of Medicine
- Year: 2016
- DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1602252
- Authors: Ferris RL, Blumenschein G, Fayette J, et al.
- Findings: Median overall survival 7.5 vs 5.1 months; hazard ratio 0.70.; One-year overall survival 36.0 percent vs 16.6 percent.
- What it means: PD-1 blockade after platinum became standard, and the trial opened the way for first-line pembrolizumab in KEYNOTE-048.
- Caveats: Response rate was low (13.3 percent); benefit accrues to a minority of durable responders.

## Sources

- N Engl J Med 2016: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1602252
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27718784/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Oropharyngeal cancer (tonsil and base of tongue)](https://onco.cc/cancers/oropharyngeal-cancer/), [Recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/recurrent-metastatic-hnscc/)
- drugs: [Nivolumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/nivolumab/)
- trials: [CheckMate 141](https://onco.cc/trials/checkmate-141/)
- journals: [New England Journal of Medicine](https://onco.cc/journals/nejm/)

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