Our group focuses on translational and clinical and research in head and neck cancers including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) which accounts for around 90% of these tumor types. We also study rare malignancies including salivary gland cancer, nasopharyngeal, sinonasal, and NUT carcinoma.
We have collaborated in the early clinical drug development of anti-PD1 therapies for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Our involvement in these clinical studies has enabled us to provide selected patients with access to novel therapies prior to the evaluation by the Spanish regulatory authority and healthcare reimbursement system. As an example, we participated in the phase III KEYNOTE-048 study which led to the subsequent approval of anti-PD1 immunotherapy pembrolizumab for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic or unresectable recurrent HNSCC, and the publication of results using different PD-L1 cut-offs (Burtness et al. 2022).
We are committed to developing biomarkers of drug sensitivity or resistance to immunotherapy and evaluating novel combinations that might overcome primary or secondary resistance to anti-PD1 therapies.
In close collaboration with VHIO’s Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) – CaixaResearch, we aim to identify and develop novel agents to treat patients with head and neck cancers, and improve patient outcomes through personalized medicine.
We are proud to have received a grant from the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) supporting clinical studies in oncology (Ayuda Estudios Clínicos). This funding has enabled us to initiate the EORTC-sponsored study entitled: PROLoNg: Pembrolizumab and Radiotherapy for OLigometastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and Neck: a randomized phase III study, in Spain. Support received from AECC also allows us to conduct the translational part of this study, evaluating the VIGex gene expression signature developed in-house by VHIO (Hernando-Calvo et al. 2023), as well as other tissue-based and circulating tumor biomarkers.
Our Group Leader, Irene Braña, is an active member of several leading professional societies and associations in oncology. She serves as a member of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress Head and Neck Cancer Track (since 2020), the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Head and Neck Group, Cancer Core Europe, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the Spanish Group of Head and Neck Cancer Treatment (TTCC). Her expertise significantly contributes to shaping precision oncology in the field of head and neck cancer.
- Develop immune-based therapies for the treatment of head and neck cancers, and identify biomarkers of drug sensitivity or resistance.
- Clinical development of novel therapies for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas as well as rare malignancies including salivary gland cancers, nasopharyngeal, sinonasal, and NUT carcinoma.
- Multidisciplinary collaboration to develop window-of-opportunity, neoadjuvant, and adjuvant studies for head and neck cancer patients.
- Molecular characterization of head and neck tumors for the personalized treatment of individual patients.
Group Leader
Irene Braña
Medical Oncologists and Clinical Investigators
Juan David Assaf, Katerin Rojas
Full list of publications 2023
Phase III clinical trials.
- Pembrolizumab With or Without Chemotherapy in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Updated Results of the Phase III KEYNOTE-048 Study. Harrington KJ, Burtness B, Greil R, Soulières D, Tahara M, de Castro G Jr, Psyrri A, Brana I, Basté N, Neupane P, Bratland Å, Fuereder T, Hughes BGM, Mesia R, Ngamphaiboon N, Rordorf T, Wan Ishak WZ, Lin J, Gumuscu B, Swaby RF, Rischin D. J Clin Oncol. 2023 Feb 1;41(4):790-802. doi: 10.1200/JCO.21.02508. Epub 2022 Oct 11. PMID: 36219809.
Biomarkers for immunotherapy.
- Nutritional status associates with immunotherapy clinical outcomes in recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. Hernando-Calvo A, Mirallas O, Marmolejo D, Saavedra O, Vieito M, Assaf Pastrana JD, Aguilar S, Bescós C, Lorente J, Giralt J, Benavente S, Temprana-Salvador J, Alberola M, Dienstmann R, Garralda E, Felip E, Villacampa G, Brana I. Oral Oncol. 2023 May;140:106364. doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2023.106364. Epub 2023 Mar 28. PMID: 36989964.
Clinical Guidelines
- Recommendations for the use of biomarkers for head and neck cancer, including salivary gland tumours: A Consensus of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology and the Spanish Society of Pathology. Pérez JMT, García-Cosío M, García-Castaño A, Gomà M, Mesia-Nin R, Ruiz-Bravo E, Soria-Rivas A, Castillo P, Braña-García I, Alberola-Ferranti M. Rev Esp Patol. 2023 Jan-Mar;56(1):45-57. doi: 10.1016/j.patol.2022.06.003. Epub 2022 Aug 27. PMID: 36599600.
Phase I with dedicated cohorts for patients with head and neck cancers.
- Phase 1 Study of JNJ-64619178, a Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 Inhibitor, in Advanced Solid Tumors. Vieito M, Moreno V, Spreafico A, Brana I, Wang JS, Preis M, Hernández T, Genta S, Hansen AR, Doger B, Galvao V, Lenox L, Brown RJ, Kalota A, Mehta J, Pastore F, Patel B, Mistry P, Gu J, Lauring J, Patel MR. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Sep 15;29(18):3592-3602. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-0092. PMID: 37491846.
- Pooled Safety Analysis of Single-Agent Lurbinectedin in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumours. Leary A, Oaknin A, Trigo JM, Moreno V, Delord JP, Boni V, Braña I, Fernández C, Kahatt C, Nieto A, Cullell-Young M, Zeaiter A, Subbiah V. Eur J Cancer. 2023 Oct;192:113259. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.113259. Epub 2023 Jul 28. PMID: 37634282 Free article.
- Phase I/II sequencing study of azacitidine, epacadostat, and pembrolizumab in advanced solid tumors. Luke JJ, Fakih M, Schneider C, Chiorean EG, Bendell J, Kristeleit R, Kurzrock R, Blagden SP, Brana I, Goff LW, O’Hayer K, Geschwindt R, Smith M, Zhou F, Naing A. Br J Cancer. 2023 Jun;128(12):2227-2235. doi: 10.1038/s41416-023-02267-1. Epub 2023 Apr 22. PMID: 37087488.
- BET inhibitor trotabresib in heavily pretreated patients with solid tumors and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Moreno V, Vieito M, Sepulveda JM, Galvao V, Hernández-Guerrero T, Doger B, Saavedra O, Carlo-Stella C, Michot JM, Italiano A, Magagnoli M, Carpio C, Pinto A, Sarmiento R, Amoroso B, Aronchik I, Filvaroff E, Hanna B, Wei X, Nikolova Z, Braña I. Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 13;14(1):1359. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36976-1. PMID: 36914652.
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