Cohen EEW, et al. - Between December 24, 2014 and May 13, 2016, researchers assessed 247 subjects to examine the potency and safety of pembrolizumab vs standard-of-care therapy for the treatment of head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma. They calculated the median overall survival in the intention-to-treat population to be 8.4 months with pembrolizumab and 6.9 months with standard of care. They observed hypothyroidism as the most common treatment-related adverse event with pembrolizumab (13% of cases), while it was fatigue with standard of care (18% of cases). Treatment-related death was recorded in only four candidates who were treated with pembrolizumab. They preferred pembrolizumab as a monotherapy as well as a part of combination therapy due to clinically notable prolongation of overall survival and favorable safety profile.