panitumumab – Oral Cancer News

Study will evaluate Panitumumab regimen in advanced SCCHN

Source: http://www.onclive.com/ Author: staff Canadian researchers are investigating standard fractionation radiotherapy with concurrent high-dose cisplatin versus accelerated fractionation radiotherapy with panitumumab in patients with locally advanced stage III and IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The NCIC Clinical Trials Group has completed accrual for the randomized phase III study, which has a planned sample size of 320 patients with SCC of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, or hypopharynx. The trial was launched in December 2008, and the Data Safety and Monitoring Committee recommended continuing the trial in October 2011. Patients assigned to arm I will undergo standard fractionation radiotherapy once daily, five days a week, for seven weeks; they will also receive cisplatin intravenously over one hour on days 1, 22, and 43 of radiotherapy. Participants assigned to arm II will undergo accelerated fractionation radiotherapy once or twice daily, five days a week, for six weeks; they will also receive panitumumab intravenously over 30-90 minutes one week prior to and on days 15 and 36 of radiotherapy. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS), while secondary endpoints include overall survival, local and regional PFS, distant metastases, adverse events, swallowing-related quality of life, functional swallowing outcomes, and economic assessments. The FDA has approved panitumumab under the brand name Vectibix for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma with disease progression on or following chemotherapy regimens containing fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. Panitumumab is a human IgG2 kappa monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to human epidermal growth factor [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-09-11T08:18:26-07:00September, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

The Impact of Timing of EGFR and IGF-1R Inhibition for Sensitizing Head and Neck Cancer to Radiation

Source: AntiCancer Research Abstract Background: Targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) improved radiotherapy outcome by 10-15% in head and neck tumors (HNSCC). We tested the therapeutic benefits of co-targeting EGFR and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) to further enhance tumor response to radiation. Materials and Methods: Mice bearing FaDu tumor xenografts were treated with ganitumab (previously known as AMG479, an anti-IGF-1R antibody), panitumumab (an anti-EGFR antibody), or both in combination with fractionated doses of radiation. Tumor growth delay and tumor cure/recurrence served as end-points. Results: The best tumor growth delay was achieved when ganitumab and panitumumab were given concurrently with radiation. Tumor cure/recurrence studies showed that combining ganitumab, panitumumab and radiation resulted in significantly higher radiocurability rates than use of either of the agents given with radiation. Conclusion: These findings provide the rationale for clinical testing of the combination of ganitumab and panitumumab for the treatment of HNSCC. This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.

Charlotte Parker2012-07-26T09:29:45-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

HPV and EGFR are hottest topics in head and neck cancer

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Zosia Chustecka The hottest topic in head and neck cancers is the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the disease, although there is also a lot interest in treatment with EGRF inhibitors, especially the second-generation products, according to an expert here at the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology 11th Biennial Conference. HPV has only been associated with head and neck cancer in the last few years, but it is now clear that patients who are positive for the virus have a better prognosis, said Cai Grau, MD, DMSC, professor of oncology at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. He chaired a session during which both hot topics were discussed. "These patients have a better prognosis, irrespective of treatment, and their risk of a second cancer is virtually zero," added session participant Lisa Licitra, MD, medical oncologist at the Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori in Milan, Italy. However, there is a difference between patients in the United States and those in Europe with regard to risk, she told meeting attendees. For American patterns, Dr. Licitra cited the analysis published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine (2010;363:24-35), which reported a risk model for death from oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma on the basis of HPV status, pack-years of tobacco smoking, and tumor and nodal stage. In this 266-patient cohort, 43% were low risk, 30% were intermediate risk, and 27% were high risk. Dr. Licitra reported that when she performed the same analysis [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-17T06:56:01-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Panitumumab Plus Platinum Chemo Misses Mark in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

Source: Internal Medicine News Digital Network By: Patrice Wendling MILAN – Panitumumab plus chemotherapy with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil proved clinically active, but failed to boost overall survival significantly in first-line recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer in the global, phase III SPECTRUM trial. The primary end point of median overall survival showed a statistically insignificant increase from 9.0 months with chemotherapy alone to 11.1 months with the addition of panitumumab (Vectibix) (hazard ratio, 0.87; log-rank P = .14). Subgroup analysis revealed, however, that the effect of panitumumab, an anti–epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody, was not the same for all patients in the international study, lead author Dr. Jan Vermorken said at the annual congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology. Regional differences were observed, suggesting a greater benefit in patients from North/South America (HR, 0.69) and Western Europe (HR, 0.73) than in those in Eastern Europe (HR, 1.11). Asian Pacific patients fell somewhere in the middle (HR, 0.99). About 45% of patients in each arm used some form of subsequent antitumor activity once off the study protocol, but differences cropped up here as well. The use of cytotoxic chemotherapy was imbalanced at 30% in the panitumumab arm vs. 25% in the chemotherapy arm, while twice as many patients in the chemotherapy arm (12% vs. 6%) received subsequent targeted systemic therapy driven largely by the use of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies, observed Dr. Vermorken of the Antwerp University Hospital in Edegem, Belgium. “It’s clear this is the first [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-27T10:27:38-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|