{
  "abstract": "Background/objectives\n\nImmunotherapy 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).Methods\n\nPeripheral 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).Results\n\nGreater 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.Conclusions\n\nIn 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.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Hematology and Oncology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.",
    "Department of Hematology and Oncology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA.",
    "Department of Cancer Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.",
    "Cancer Research Unit, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA.",
    "Department of Pathology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Drew R Nannini",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2333-7920"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Inamul Haque",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1307-9446"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Sushanta K Banerjee"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Suman Kambhampati",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8527-1365"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9tmdz6kdznfc1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/epigenomes10040068",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13692446",
  "id": "9tmdz6kdznfc1",
  "issns": [
    "2075-4655"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924727",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Epigenetics and DNA Methylation"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222932835",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13692446?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13692446",
  "pmid": "42924727",
  "published": "2026-10-19",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9tmdz6kdznfc1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42924727",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924727"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Epigenetics and DNA Methylation",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Markers of Biological Aging and Survival in Recurrent and Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Immunotherapy.",
  "title_text": "Markers of Biological Aging and Survival in Recurrent and Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Immunotherapy.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9tmdz6kdznfc1",
  "venue": "Epigenomes",
  "versions": []
}