What this means
BACKGROUND/Immunotherapy has become a cornerstone in the treatment of recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC), but reliable noninvasive biomarkers of prognosis remain limited. We investigated the associations between markers of biological aging and survival outcomes among patients with R/M HNSCC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- Not stated
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Markers of Biological Aging and Survival in Recurrent and Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Immunotherapy.
- Authors
- Nannini DR, Haque I, Banerjee SK et al.
- Journal
- Epigenomes
- Published
- Oct 24, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42924727 ↗
Abstract
Background
Immunotherapy has become a cornerstone in the treatment of recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC), but reliable noninvasive biomarkers of prognosis remain limited. We investigated the associations between markers of biological aging and survival outcomes among patients with R/M HNSCC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
What they did
Peripheral blood samples collected prior to ICI initiation from 100 patients with R/M HNSCC underwent DNA methylation profiling using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC array. Four epigenetic age acceleration measures were estimated from DNA methylation levels and evaluated for associations with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
What they found
Greater intrinsic and extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration were each associated with longer PFS (p = 0.025 and p = 0.048, respectively) and OS (p = 0.024 and p = 0.029, respectively). Significant interactions between GrimAge acceleration and chronological age were observed for both PFS (p = 0.010) and OS (p < 0.001). Greater GrimAge acceleration was associated with improved PFS among patients less than 65 years of age but shorter OS among patients 65 years of age or older. In this exploratory study, pretreatment epigenetic aging measures were associated with survival outcomes among patients with R/M HNSCC receiving ICIs. These findings suggest biological aging metrics may have clinical relevance and warrant further investigation as potential noninvasive prognostic biomarkers.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Nannini DR, Haque I, Banerjee SK et al. Markers of Biological Aging and Survival in Recurrent and Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Immunotherapy. Epigenomes. 2026. doi:10.3390/epigenomes10040068. PMID: 42924727. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42924727/