Outcome of recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer patients after first line platinum and cetuximab therapy

Up to now, platinum containing combination chemotherapy (cisplatin or carboplatin) administered with the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody (anti-EGFR-AB) cetuximab is the only regimen able to prolong overall survival (OS) compared to chemotherapy alone in first-line r/mHNSCC [1]. In the trial, which lead to the approval of this combination, patients had a good performance status at inclusion (PS of 0–1) and median OS improved from 7.4 to 10.1 months (hazard ratio of cetuximab plus chemotherapy vs chemotherapy, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.99; P=0.04).

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