HealthDay: Immunotherapy drug did not increase adverse surgery events

A University of Cincinnati study found administering an immunotherapy drug before surgery for oral cavity cancer did not lead to increased rates of complications during and after surgery.

HealthDay featured the research, recently published in JAMA Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, that evaluated outcomes during and after surgery when patients with head and neck cancer were given the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab prior to surgery.

"What we found was that patients who received preoperative treatment with immunotherapy did not have an increase in morbidities around the time of surgery,” said Alice Tang, MD, first author on the study, assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology in UC’s College of Medicine, a UC Health physician and a University of Cincinnati Cancer Center member.

Read the HealthDay article.

Read more about the research.

Featured photo at top of Alice Tang, MD, center, with patient. Photo provided by UC Health.

Related Stories

1

Download the Duo Mobile App to stay connected to UC systems

February 6, 2026

Students, faculty, and staff still using SMS text messaging or phone calls to authenticate with Duo need to switch to the Duo Mobile app as soon as possible to ensure uninterrupted access to UC systems. Learn more and find instructions under “How to switch from Text/Call to Duo Push” at uc.edu/2fa.

2

Will AI really replace your job?

February 6, 2026

As artificial intelligence seeps into more careers, some people wonder if any jobs will become obsolete in the coming years, according to 700WLW. Jeffrey Shaffer, director of Lindner College of Business’ Applied AI Lab, spoke with 700WLW on the future of AI in the workplace.