[First report on successful application of nivolumab in Hungary for the treatment of locally recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma].

The prognosis for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer (R/M HNSCC) remains dismal and its treatment poses a challenge for oncologists. Nivolumab belongs to the class of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and is an antibody developed to target the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) receptor. The CheckMate 141 randomized phase 3 trial proved the efficacy of nivolumab in the treatment of R/M HNSCC as it was shown to significantly increase overall survival and quality of life. We present the case of a 53-year-old woman with R/M HNSCC who was given nivolumab monotherapy, as third-line treatment due the progression of her tumor. After treatment with nivolumab, the size of her tumor decreased, then was stable, while she did not experience any adverse events or notable side effects. Our case report is the first to demonstrate the application of nivolumab in R/M HNSCC in Hungary.