"An immunotherapy drug has been hailed as a potential game changer after being found to greatly improve survival for patients with relapsed head and neck cancer  a disease which is notoriously difficult to treat. Nivolumab became the first treatment to extend survival in a phase III clinical trial for patients with head and neck cancer in whom chemotherapy had failed  and it did so with fewer sideeffects than existing therapeutic options. More than double the number of patients taking nivolumab were alive after one year as those treated with chemotherapy reported the major international trial published today Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine. There are currently no other treatment options that improve the survival of patients with cisplatinresistant relapsed or metastatic head and neck cancers. This group of patients are expected to live less than six months. The trial was led in the UK by Professor Kevin Harrington of The Institute of Cancer Research London and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and involved  research organisations from around the world. It was funded by Bristol Myers Squibb. Of the  patients in the trial  with relapsed or metastatic head and neck cancer were allocated to receive nivolumab and  to one of three different chemotherapies. UK patients received the chemotherapy drug docetaxel which is the only treatment approved for advanced head and neck cancer by NICE. After one year of the study  per cent of patients treated with nivolumab were still alive compared with  per cent for the comparator arm. Median survival for patients on nivolumab was . months compared with . months for chemotherapy. The survival benefit was more pronounced in patients whose tumours had tested positive for human papillomavirus HPV. These patients survived an average of . months with nivolumab and . months with chemotherapy. HPVnegative patients survived an average of . months with nivolumab and . with chemotherapy.  Importantly fewer patients experienced serious sideeffects from taking nivolumab than with conventional treatment  only  per cent compared with  per cent of patients who received chemotherapy.  Patients given chemotherapy reported feeling physically socially and emotionally worse off whereas those who were given nivolumab remained stable during the course of treatment. Professor Harrington will be presenting some of the findings at the European Society for Medical Oncology  Congress in Copenhagen simultaneously with publication.  Nivolumab will still have to go through approval by the European Medicines Agency and NICE before it is available for head and neck cancer patients on the NHS. UK trial lead Professor Kevin Harrington Professor of Biological Cancer Therapies at The Institute of Cancer Research London and Consultant at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust said Nivolumab could be a real gamechanger for patients with advanced head and neck cancer. This trial found that it can greatly extend life among a group of patients who have no existing treatment options without worsening quality of life. Once it has relapsed or spread head and neck cancer is extremely difficult to treat. So its great news that these results indicate we now have a new treatment that can significantly extend life and Im keen to see it enter the clinic as soon as possible. Professor Paul Workman Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research London said Nivolumab is one of a new wave of immunotherapies that are beginning to have an impact across cancer treatment. This phase III clinical trial expands the repertoire of nivolumab even further showing that it is the first treatment to have significant benefits in relapsed head and neck cancer. We hope regulators can work with the manufacturer to avoid delays in getting this drug to patients who have no effective treatment options left to them. Some of the data was presented at  CEST today Sunday at the European Society for Medical Oncology  Congress in Copenhagen. Notes to editors For more information please contact Claire Hastings on    or claire.hastingsicr.ac.uk mailtoclaire.hastingsicr.ac.uk. For enquiries out of hours please call   . About head and neck cancer There were around  new cases of head and neck cancer and  deaths in the UK in   globally and more than half relapse within  years. The Institute of Cancer Research London is one of the worlds most influential cancer research organisations. Scientists and clinicians at The Institute of Cancer Research ICR are working every day to make a real impact on cancer patients lives. Through its unique partnership with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and benchtobedside approach the ICR is able to create and deliver results in a way that other institutions cannot. Together the two organisations are rated in the top four centres for cancer research and treatment globally. The ICR has an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than  years. It provided the first convincing evidence that DNA damage is the basic cause of cancer laying the foundation for the now universally accepted idea that cancer is a genetic disease. Today it is a world leader at identifying cancerrelated genes and discovering new targeted drugs for personalised cancer treatment. A college of the University of London the ICR is the UKs topranked academic institution for research quality and provides postgraduate higher education of international distinction. It has charitable status and relies on support from partner organisations charities and the general public.  The ICRs mission is to make the discoveries that defeat cancer. For more information visit http  The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust The Royal Marsden opened its doors in  as the worlds first hospital dedicated to cancer diagnosis treatment research and education. The Head and Neck Unit at The Royal Marsden is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Today together with its academic partner The Institute of Cancer Research ICR it is the largest and most comprehensive cancer centre in Europe treating over  NHS and private patients every year. It is a centre of excellence with an international reputation for groundbreaking research and pioneering the very latest in cancer treatments and technologies.  The Royal Marsden with the ICR is the only National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre for Cancer. First awarded the status in  it was reawarded in . A total of  million is being provided over five years to support pioneering research work and is being shared out over eight different cancer themes. The Royal Marsden also provides community services in the London boroughs of Sutton and Merton and in June  along with the ICR the Trust launched a new academic partnership with Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Middlesex.  Since  the hospitals charity The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity has helped raise over  million to build theatres diagnostic centres and drug development units. Prince William became President of The Royal Marsden in  following a long royal connection with the hospital."