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Multicenter retrospective study of cetuximab plus platinum-based chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of cetuximab plus platinum-based chemotherapy for patients specifically diagnosed with recurrent or metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Methods

We conducted a multicenter retrospective observational study of patients who underwent first-line cetuximab plus platinum-based chemotherapy between December 2012 and June 2015. 65 patients received weekly cetuximab (week 1, 400 mg/m2; subsequent weeks, 250 mg/m2) plus a maximum of six 3-weekly cycles of cisplatin (80 or 100 mg/m2, day 1) or carboplatin (at an area under the curve of 5 mg/mL/min as a 1-h intravenous infusion on day 1) and 5-fluorouracil (800 or 1000 mg/m2/day, days 1–4). Patients with stable disease who received cetuximab plus platinum-based chemotherapy continued to receive cetuximab until disease progression or unacceptable toxicities, whichever occurred first.

Results

The median follow-up was 10.5 (range 1.2–34.2) months. The best overall response and the disease control rates were 46.2 and 67.7%, respectively. The median overall survival and progression-free survival rates were 12.1 and 7.8 months, respectively. The most common grades 3–4 adverse events were skin rash (9.2%) followed by leukopenia (6.2%). None of the adverse events were fatal.

Conclusion

The results of our multicenter retrospective study, which was the largest of its kind to date, suggest that first-line cetuximab plus platinum-based chemotherapy is suitable and well-tolerated for the systemic therapy of recurrent or metastatic OSCC.

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Acknowledgements

This study was not supported by any external funding source. We would like to thank Editage (http://www.editage.jp) for English language editing.

Funding

No funding was received for this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Oral Oncology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8588, Japan

    Souichi Yanamoto & Masahiro Umeda

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan

    Mitomu Kioi & Iwai Tohnai

  3. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-Cho, Kashihara, Nara, Japan

    Tadaaki Kirita

  4. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Keiyukai Sapporo Hospital, 1-1-14 Hondori, Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo, Japan

    Tetsuro Yamashita

  5. Department of Oral Surgery, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, S1 W17, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan

    Hiroyoshi Hiratsuka

  6. Department of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan

    Satoshi Yokoo

  7. Department of Oral Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan

    Hideki Tanzawa

  8. Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Narikazu Uzawa

  9. Oral Cancer Center, Tokyo Dental College, 5-11-13 Sugano, Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan

    Takahiko Shibahara

  10. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa, Japan

    Yoshihide Ota

  11. Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan

    Hiroshi Kurita

  12. First Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka University, 1-8 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka, Japan

    Masaya Okura

  13. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Shitukawa, Toon, Ehime, Japan

    Hiroyuki Hamakawa

  14. Dental and Oral Medical Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan

    Jingo Kusukawa

Authors
  1. Souichi Yanamoto
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  2. Masahiro Umeda
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  3. Mitomu Kioi
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  4. Tadaaki Kirita
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  6. Hiroyoshi Hiratsuka
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  7. Satoshi Yokoo
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  8. Hideki Tanzawa
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  9. Narikazu Uzawa
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  10. Takahiko Shibahara
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  11. Yoshihide Ota
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  12. Hiroshi Kurita
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  13. Masaya Okura
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  14. Hiroyuki Hamakawa
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  15. Jingo Kusukawa
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  16. Iwai Tohnai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Souichi Yanamoto.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

Informed consent

The need for informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Boards of each participating institution because of the retrospective nature of the study.

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Yanamoto, S., Umeda, M., Kioi, M. et al. Multicenter retrospective study of cetuximab plus platinum-based chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 81, 549–554 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-018-3531-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-018-3531-x

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