{"entity":{"id":"paper-gross-neoadjuvant-cemiplimab-cscc-nejm-2022","kind":"paper","name":"Neoadjuvant cemiplimab for stage II to IV cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma","aka":[],"tldr":"Giving four doses of cemiplimab before surgery for resectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma eliminated all viable tumour in half of patients and left only minimal residual disease in another 13 percent, opening the way to smaller operations and less radiotherapy.","summary":"Phase 2 study of 79 patients with resectable stage II to IV (M0) cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma treated with up to four doses of neoadjuvant cemiplimab followed by surgery.\n\nPathological complete response was 50.6 percent and major pathological response (10 percent or less viable tumour) a further 12.7 percent; radiological response underestimated pathological response, and adverse events were consistent with PD-1 blockade.","asOf":"2026-09-17","links":[{"label":"N Engl J Med 2022","url":"https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2209813"},{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36094839/"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["advanced-cutaneous-scc"],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":["cemiplimab"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":["nejm"],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"journal":"New England Journal of Medicine","year":2022,"doi":"10.1056/NEJMoa2209813","pmid":"36094839","authors":"Gross ND, Miller DM, Khushalani NI, et al.","paperType":"observational","findings":["Pathological complete response 50.6 percent; major pathological response 12.7 percent.","Objective radiological response 68.4 percent."],"whatItMeans":"Neoadjuvant cemiplimab is now used to shrink large or function-threatening cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas before surgery, and pathological response is being studied as a guide to omitting adjuvant radiotherapy.","caveats":["Single-arm; long-term recurrence-free survival data are maturing.","Surgical de-escalation after complete response is not yet standard."],"changedPractice":true,"participants":79},"route":"/key-papers/paper-gross-neoadjuvant-cemiplimab-cscc-nejm-2022/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"advanced-cutaneous-scc","kind":"cancer","name":"Advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/advanced-cutaneous-scc/"}],"drug":[{"id":"cemiplimab","kind":"drug","name":"Cemiplimab","route":"/drugs/cemiplimab/"}],"journal":[{"id":"nejm","kind":"journal","name":"New England Journal of Medicine","route":"/journals/nejm/"}]}}