Cisplatin plus radiation therapy provides better survival rates than cetuximab plus radiation therapy for oropharyngeal carcinoma, supporting previous findings (Head Neck. doi:10.1002/hed.26469.)
“This population‐based retrospective study compares the efficacy of cisplatin… vs cetuximab… with concurrent radiation as definitive treatment in patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma,” wrote Andrea S. Fung MD, PhD, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, and colleagues.
A total of 546 patients treated with either cisplatin (n = 431) or cetuximab (n = 115) plus radiation therapy between 2006 and 2016 were included in the study.
Patients who received cetuximab experienced post-treatment recurrence 25% of the time versus 15% in the cisplatin arm.
Additionally, smoking, HPV-negativity, high Charlson comorbidity index, and T-stage were factors associated with worse disease-free survival and overall survival in patients treated with cetuximab.
The authors convey that even patients greater than 65 years of age and those with a Charlson comorbidity index of 3 or greater still had more favorable outcomes with cisplatin compared to cetuximab.—Jennifer Spector
