[Effectivity of cetuximab monotherapy in the treatment of refractory advanced cancer of the head and neck]. / Efectividad de Cetuximab en monoterapia en el tratamiento de cánceres de cabeza y cuello avanzado refractario.
An Med Interna
; 25(4): 159-62, 2008 Apr.
Article
em Es
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18604330
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
More than 90% of carcinoma of the head and neck (CHN) have an overexpression of the EGFR gene, and that overexpression is associated with a worse prognosis. Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody against EGFR. PATIENTS ANDMETHODS:
We have conducted a retrospective study of 10 consecutive cases with metastatic and/or recurrent CHN treated with cetuximab monotherapy as second line therapy, with the main objective of analyzing the progression-free survival (PFS); we also analyzed the response rate, the overall survival (OS), and toxicity profile as second end points.RESULTS:
The median age was 55 years, and 100% of patients were males. Fourty percent of the patients received cetuximab as second line, and 60% as third line therapy. With a median follow-up of 13.5 months, the median PFS was 4 months (95%CI 3.4-4.6 months), with a median OS of 9.7 months (95%CI 2.9-16.6 months).The objective response rate was 10%, and the disease control rate was 60% (Partial response = 10% and stable disease for > 16 weeks = 50%). Thirty percent of patients had grade 3 rash.CONCLUSIONS:
Cetuximab monotherapy has a modest effectivity in the treatment of refractory CHN, but with a limited toxicity. Future studies should use combinations of cetuximab with others effective chemotherapeutic drugs in the treatment of CHN, such as taxanes.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço
/
Anticorpos Monoclonais
/
Antineoplásicos
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
Es
Revista:
An Med Interna
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article