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Study finds that new treatment is not better than standard care for head and neck cancer
Posted On: January 20, 2017
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Major risk factors for head and neck cancer include tobacco use and the consumption of alcohol or certain preserved or salted foods.
Head and neck (H&N) cancer—which affects the mouth, nose and throat—accounts for 3% of all new cancer cases in Ontario. The current standard treatment for H&N cancer, consisting of radiation combined with chemotherapy, can lead to severe side effects and compromise quality of life by impairing speech, swallowing and breathing. As such, researchers are seeking new therapeutic strategies with less complications.
A team led by PM Clinical Researchers Drs. Lillian Siu and John Waldron conducted a large clinical trial evaluating an experimental treatment for advanced H&N cancer. The regimen combines radiation with a new drug, panitumumab, which inhibits the activity of a protein known as Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). EGFR is present at unusually high levels in most H&N tumours and has been shown to promote their growth. Given that panitumumab specifically targets EGFR, the drug is expected to elicit fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy.
The study included 320 patients with advanced H&N cancers being treated at 17 cancer centres across Canada. Half of the participants received the experimental treatment, while the other half received standard treatment consisting of radiation combined with the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. Researchers found that there was no difference between the progression-free and overall survival rates of patients receiving the experimental treatment and those receiving standard treatment. Moreover, there was no difference in quality of life indicators and in the rates of adverse side effects.
These findings demonstrate that standard therapy for advanced H&N cancer is still the best option available. Although the study did not reveal a difference between the effectiveness of the two treatments, it enabled the collection of blood and tumour samples and of detailed quality-of-life data, which will support future research related to H&N cancer. A larger study addressing a similar question is ongoing and will further evaluate this question.
This work was supported by Amgen Inc, the Canadian Cancer Society and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
Siu LL, Waldron JN, Chen BE, Winquist E, Wright JR, Nabid A, Hay JH, Ringash J, Liu G, Johnson A, Shenouda G, Chasen M, Pearce A, Butler JB, Breen S, Chen EX, FitzGerald TJ, Childs TJ, Montenegro A, O'Sullivan B, Parulekar WR. Effect of Standard Radiotherapy with Cisplatin vs Accelerated Radiotherapy With Panitumumab in Locoregionally Advanced Squamous Cell Head and Neck Carcinoma: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2016 Dec 8. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.4510.
A team led by PM Clinical Researchers Drs. Lillian Siu and John Waldron conducted a large clinical trial evaluating an experimental treatment for advanced H&N cancer. The regimen combines radiation with a new drug, panitumumab, which inhibits the activity of a protein known as Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). EGFR is present at unusually high levels in most H&N tumours and has been shown to promote their growth. Given that panitumumab specifically targets EGFR, the drug is expected to elicit fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy.
The study included 320 patients with advanced H&N cancers being treated at 17 cancer centres across Canada. Half of the participants received the experimental treatment, while the other half received standard treatment consisting of radiation combined with the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. Researchers found that there was no difference between the progression-free and overall survival rates of patients receiving the experimental treatment and those receiving standard treatment. Moreover, there was no difference in quality of life indicators and in the rates of adverse side effects.
These findings demonstrate that standard therapy for advanced H&N cancer is still the best option available. Although the study did not reveal a difference between the effectiveness of the two treatments, it enabled the collection of blood and tumour samples and of detailed quality-of-life data, which will support future research related to H&N cancer. A larger study addressing a similar question is ongoing and will further evaluate this question.
This work was supported by Amgen Inc, the Canadian Cancer Society and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
Siu LL, Waldron JN, Chen BE, Winquist E, Wright JR, Nabid A, Hay JH, Ringash J, Liu G, Johnson A, Shenouda G, Chasen M, Pearce A, Butler JB, Breen S, Chen EX, FitzGerald TJ, Childs TJ, Montenegro A, O'Sullivan B, Parulekar WR. Effect of Standard Radiotherapy with Cisplatin vs Accelerated Radiotherapy With Panitumumab in Locoregionally Advanced Squamous Cell Head and Neck Carcinoma: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2016 Dec 8. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.4510.