A new study found that biomarker results may be able to point the way toward which patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma require the drug pembrolizumab, which is expensive and involves time-consuming treatment.

Previously published trial results had found that perioperative pembrolizumab improved event-free survival for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients, but since the treatment is burdensome, researchers wanted to determine whether anticipated survival benefits outweigh the costs. They compared patients with a combined positive score of 1-10 with patients with a score of over 10 to predict response to the drug from different phases of cancer.

Patients with scores over 10 saw an estimated 1.35 additional quality-adjusted life years at an incremental cost of $181,900 with the addition of the drug to standard surgery and therapy. Patients with combined positive scores of 1-10 had an estimated 0.08 additional quality-adjusted life years at an incremental cost of $166,500.

The study’s senior author said that these results “suggest we need more data to give both patients and providers a clearer understanding of the costs and benefits of the added therapy in their individual cases.” Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is often diagnosed at advanced stages and already carries high financial and therapeutic burdens.