|
Title
|
|
|
|
Recurrent head and neck cancer: current treatment and future prospects
| |
|
Author
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
| Recurrent and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck still carries a poor prognosis. Response rates with combination chemotherapy regimens are generally higher than those observed with single-agent chemotherapy. However, this did not translate into an overall survival benefit, not in even a single randomized trial. As none of the combination chemotherapy regimens demonstrated an overall survival benefit when compared with single-agent methotrexate, cisplatin or 5-fluorouracil, the use of combination chemotherapy outside clinical trials is usually restricted to younger patients with a good performance status and with symptomatic disease who require prompt symptom relief. After decades without real progress, a recent randomized trial showed that adding cetuximab, the first clinically available EGF receptor-directed monoclonal antibody, to a standard chemotherapy regimen (platinum/5-fluorouracil), led to an important survival benefit. In addition, the response rate nearly doubled with this approach, which has great promise for the treatment of symptomatic disease. There is now a plethora of targeted therapies in various stages of preclinical and clinical development. The next challenge will be to sort out which of them have a clinically meaningful activity and find out how to incorporate them into existing treatment regimens. |
| |
|
Language
|
|
|
|
English
| |
|
Source (journal)
|
|
|
|
Expert review of anticancer therapy. - London, 2001, currens
| |
|
Publication
|
|
|
|
London
:
Future Drugs
,
2008
| |
|
ISSN
|
|
|
|
1473-7140
[print]
1744-8328
[online]
| |
|
DOI
|
|
|
|
10.1586/14737140.8.3.375
| |
|
Volume/pages
|
|
|
|
8
:3
(2008)
, p. 375-391
| |
|
ISI
|
|
|
|
000258836800015
| |
|
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
|
|
|
|
| |
|