In the phase III randomised clinical trial KEYNOTE-048 pembrolizumab-based first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic (R/M) HNSCC led to meaningful improvements in overall survival (OS) the programmed-death ligand-1 (PD-L1) combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 1 population, when compared to cetuximab, platinum and 5-fluorouracil combination therapy (EXTREME regimen) [3]. Here, CD274 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.