Testing What Happens When an Immunotherapy Drug (Pembrolizumab) is Given by Itself Compared to the Usual Treatment of Chemotherapy With Radiation After Surgery for Recurrent Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
This phase II trial studies the effect of pembrolizumab alone compared to the usual approach (chemotherapy \[cisplatin and carboplatin\] plus radiation therapy) after surgery in treating patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that has come back (recurrent) or patients with a second head and neck cancer that is not from metastasis (primary). Radiation therapy uses high energy radiation or protons to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Cisplatin is in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. It works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells. C