Anti-EGFR-Based Therapy in Recurrent or Metastatic HNSCC - What Difference Does it Make?

Hendrik Eggers; Lea Häbel; Arnold Ganser; Viktor Grünwald; Roland Merten; Athanasia Warnecke; Martin Durisin; Philipp Ivanyi

doi:10.1080/07357907.2022.2134414

Anti-EGFR-Based Therapy in Recurrent or Metastatic HNSCC - What Difference Does it Make?

Cancer Invest. 2023 Jan;41(1):93-100. doi: 10.1080/07357907.2022.2134414. Epub 2022 Oct 25.

Authors

Hendrik Eggers^{1

2}, Lea Häbel^{1

2}, Arnold Ganser^{1

2}, Viktor Grünwald^{1

3}, Roland Merten^{2

4}, Athanasia Warnecke^{2

5}, Martin Durisin^{2

5}, Philipp Ivanyi^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
² Comprehensive Cancer Center Hannover, Claudia von Schilling Center, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
³ Interdisciplinary GU Oncology, Clinic for Urology, Clinic for Medical Oncology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany (Current position).
⁴ Department of Radiotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
⁵ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

PMID: 36239419
DOI: 10.1080/07357907.2022.2134414

Abstract

Patients with R/M HNSCC treated with palliative first-line therapy at Hannover Medical School between October 2005 and December 2016 have been included to show changes in survival following broad utilization of cetuximab. Treatment periods were defined from 10/2005 to 12/2008 (Period A) and 01/2009 to 12/2016. Overall survival did not improve over time. However, in subgroup analysis cetuximab utilized at any time vs. never showed a significant improve of overall survival (11.3 vs. 6.3 months, HR: 0.55, 95%-CI: 0.4-0.8, p = 0.04). Therefore, this study supports the application of cetuximab in this real-world population.

Keywords: Anti-EGFR; R/M-HNSCC; cetuximab; head and neck cancer; treatment.

MeSH terms

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
Cetuximab / therapeutic use
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Humans
Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / drug therapy
Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / etiology
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck / drug therapy

Substances

Cetuximab