Purpose

This phase II trial compares the effect of adding ipatasertib to pembrolizumab (standard immunotherapy) vs. pembrolizumab alone in treating patients with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck that has come back (recurrent) or that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Ipatasertib is in a class of medications called protein kinase B (AKT) inhibitors. It may stop the growth of tumor cells and may kill them. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving ipatasertib in combination with pembrolizumab may be more effective than pembrolizumab alone in improving some outcomes in patients with recurrent/metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck.