chemoradiotherapy

YM Biosciences reports positive nimotuzumab four-year survival data

Source: www.reuters.com Author: press release YM BioSciences Inc., a life sciences product development company that identifies and advances a diverse portfolio of promising cancer-related products at various stages of development, announced that an oral presentation at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) 2009 Annual Meeting reported positive 48-month survival data for its EGFR-targeting antibody, nimotuzumab. The "BEST" trial was a randomized four-arm study treating patients with inoperable, locoregionally-advanced, stage III/IVa head and neck cancer with radiation alone, chemoradiation alone, or radiation or chemoradiation in combination with nimotuzumab. These data were a follow-up to 30-month survival data presented at ASCO 2009 and demonstrate that the benefit of adding nimotuzumab to radiation and chemoradiation is durable and persists for several years. "These data are convincing evidence that nimotuzumab is an efficacious and safe drug and highlight its potential in the head and neck cancer indication. In this respect we note that the National Cancer Centre of Singapore has initiated a global Phase III trial with nimotuzumab in the adjuvant setting for head and neck cancer patients," said David Allan, Chairman and CEO of YM BioSciences. "Activity of nimotuzumab in the BEST trial was similar to that demonstrated in separate trials with cetuximab in locally advanced head and neck cancer but there was no evidence that nimotuzumab's activity was accompanied by the advanced toxicities of the class." In the ASTRO presentation, Dr. Lokesh Viswanth, Kidwani Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, India described that the addition of nimotuzumab to radiotherapy (RT) [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-03T08:17:42-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Early postoperative Taxol® may improve outcomes in high-risk head and neck cancer

Source: professional.cancerconsultants.com Author: staff Researchers involved in the RTOG 0024 study have reported that the administration of early adjuvant Taxol® (paclitaxel) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy may improve local control and improve disease-free survival in patients with high-risk head and neck carcinoma. The details of this study appeared in the Journal of Clinical Oncology early online on August 31, 2009.[1] There have been several randomized and non-randomized clinical trials that suggest that the concomitant administration of platinum-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) is superior to RT alone for the treatment of patients with advanced head and neck cancer for local and regional control. Most, but not all, have also shown a survival advantage for combined treatment. An intergroup trial with participation of RTOG, ECOG, and SWOG compared post-operative radiotherapy alone or with concurrent Platinol® (cisplatin) for patients with high-risk head and neck cancer. This study showed that the addition of adjuvant Platinol decreased local recurrences but had no significant impact on metastatic disease or overall survival. An EORTC trial showed that the addition of Platinol to RT improved progression-free and overall survival by 10% and improved overall survival by the same degree. The current study (RTOG 0024) sought to improve the results of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in high-risk head and neck cancer patients by administering Taxol postoperatively on weeks 2, 3, and 4 prior to RT. Taxol and Platinol were administered concomitantly with RT after week 4. This study was compared to the previous RTOG trial 9501, which administered Platinol alone with RT. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-13T04:51:10-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

BioVex to report phase I/II clinical trial results for the front line treatment of head and neck cancer

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: staff BioVex Inc, a company developing next generation biologics for the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease, announced that the results from a Phase I/II combination study in previously untreated patients with head and neck cancer will be presented at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, which will take place May 29, 2009 - June 2, 2009 in Orlando, FL. The results are to be presented in an abstract (number 6018) entitled, "Phase I/II dose escalation study of OncoVEX GM-CSF and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in untreated stage III/IV squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN)," at a poster session on Friday, May 29, 2009 from 2:00pm - 6:00pm EDT on Level 2, West Hall F3 of the conference. A poster discussion will take place from 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT. Study Rationale Patients with head and neck cancer often present with bulky disease that is too large or too close to vital organs for surgical removal. These patients typically undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatment prior to surgery. Patients who present with tumor containing lymph nodes are particularly difficult to treat and approximately half of these patients relapse within two years. In this study, OncoVEX GM-CSF was administered by direct injection, at three dose levels, into tumor containing lymph nodes in combination with standard first line chemo radiotherapy every three weeks for four cycles. All patients then went for surgery. Of the 17 Stage III/IVA (N1-3) patients treated, 16 had N2 or [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-05-20T18:06:43-07:00May, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Characteristics associated with swallowing changes after concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer

Source: Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134(10):1060-1065 Authors: Joseph K. Salama, MD et al. Objective: To define factors that acutely influenced swallowing function prior to and during concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Design: A summary score from 1 to 7 (the swallowing performance status scale [SPS]) of oral and pharyngeal impairment, aspiration, and diet, was assigned to each patient study by a single senior speech and swallow pathologist, with higher scores indicating worse swallowing. Generalized linear regression models were formulated to asses the effects of patient factors (performance status, smoking intensity, amount of alcohol ingestion, and age), tumor factors (primary site, T stage, and N stage), and treatment-related factors (radiation dose, use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy, response to induction chemotherapy, post-chemoradiotherapy neck dissection, and pre-protocol surgery) on the differences between SPS score before and after treatment. Setting: University hospital tertiary care referral center. Patients: The study included 95 patients treated under a multiple institution, phase 2 protocol who underwent a videofluorographic oropharyngeal motility (OPM) study to assess swallowing function prior to and within 1 to 2 months after the completion of concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Main Outcome Measures: Factors associated with swallowing changes after chemoradiotherapy. Results: The mean pretreatment and posttreatment OPM scores were 3.09 and 3.77, respectively. Patients with T3 or T4 tumors (odds ratio [OR], 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.15-0.95; P = .04) and a performance status of 1 or 2 (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.15-0.91; P = .03) were less likely to have worsening of swallowing after [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-10-21T12:25:59-07:00October, 2008|Oral Cancer News|

New York Presbyterian Hospital showcases latest advances and techniques in head and neck surgery

Source: www.marketwatch.com Author: staff Head and neck surgery is a diverse regional subspecialty, whose central focus is treatment of oncologic disorders of the neck. "Neck dissection is relevant to treatment of such disorders as squamous cell cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, tongue cancer, laryngeal cancer, thyroid cancer, salivary gland cancer, and skin cancers of the head/neck region, including melanoma," explained William I. Kuhel, MD, the Director of the Head and Neck Service, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and Associate Professor of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology at Weill Cornell Medical School. "For many years, the radical neck dissection was the standard operation for removal of metastatic disease involving the lymph nodes in the neck, but that operation evolved into what are referred to as modified and selective neck dissections, which spare some of the important structures in the neck," said Dr. Kuhel. Salvatore M. Caruana, MD, the Director of the Division of Head and Neck Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, explained further. "The trend these days is to do smaller operations to get the same effect. Over the years it has become clear that certain areas of a radical neck dissection do not have to be included for diseases at specific levels. Our knowledge base has allowed us to make smaller operations to address the same problems." Greater experience has also allowed for more common use of adjuvant therapies, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-10-06T12:35:45-07:00October, 2008|Oral Cancer News|