However, for OSCC or HNSCC, neoadjuvant anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) monotherapy has shown a relatively low major pathological response (MPR) rate (4.3% for pembrolizumab in HNSCC and 8% for nivolumab in OSCC)13,14. Here, PDCD1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.