GLP-1 RA Use and Survival with PD-1 Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Monday, October 19, 2026

11:36 AM - 11:42 AM PT

Location: West Exhibit Hall A, Learning Zone 3

Presenting Author(s)

Gabriel G. Bonassi, Medical Student

M3
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
Toledo, Ohio, United States

Co-Author(s)

Gabriel G. Bonassi, Medical Student

M3
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
Toledo, Ohio, United States
SA

Suffia Alvi, Physician (MD)

PGY2
Wayne State University - Department of Otolaryngology, United States
Aya M. Dakroub, Medical Student

M3
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
Canonsburg, PA, United States

Senior Author(s)

HN

Hassan Nasser, Physician (MD)

Head and Neck Surgeon
Karmanos Cancer Center, United States

Disclosure(s):

Gabriel G. Bonassi, Medical Student:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Programmed Cell Death Protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor immunotherapy improves survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); however, the impact of concomitant glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist use remains unclear despite its widespread and increased use with 6.9 million people nationally as of 2024, a 155% increase from 2018 to 2022.

Methods: This retrospective, multi-institutional study queried deidentified records from 171 healthcare organizations in the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network on January 10th, 2026, to identify patients with a diagnosis of HNSCC who initiated PD-1 Inhibitor therapy from January 1st, 2016, to December 31st, 2025. Patients who initiated pembrolizumab or nivolumab within 5 years of HNSCC diagnosis were included, and those who did not were excluded. Exposure was defined as GLP-1 receptor agonist use, identified by ACT Code: A10BJ, 3 months prior to PD-1 initiation. Index was defined as the date of PD-1 inhibitor initiation. Propensity-score matching (PSM) was performed for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and comorbidities 1:1 via the TriNetX Analysis platform using a greedy-nearest neighbor algorithm, with a caliper of 0.1 standard deviations. The primary outcomes are 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival (OS) after PD-1 inhibitor initiation.

Results: After PSM, 81 patients were matched for both the GLP-1 receptor agonist cohort (mean [SD] age, 66.8 [9.5] years, 61 male [75.3%]) and the no GLP-1 receptor agonist cohort (mean [SD] age, 66.9 [11.7] years, 63 male [77.8%]). GLP-1 receptor agonist use was associated with significantly improved OS at 1 year (HR: 0.49, 95% CI, 0.27-0.89), 3 years (HR: 0.52, 95% CI, 0.32-0.84), and 5 years (HR: 0.53, 95% CI, 0.33-0.86) after PD-1 inhibitor treatment.

Conclusions: Among patients with HNSCC, GLP-1 receptor agonist use was associated with improved OS within 1, 3, and 5 years compared with no GLP-1 receptor agonist use.