Interest to consider re-challenging by cetuximab and platinum containing regimen in recurrent Head and Neck Cancer

The cover for issue 101 of Oncotarget features Figure 2, "Selection process," by Borel, et al.

We complete a retrospective review of all medical records from R/M HNSCC patients treated after 16 weeks with the EXTREME regimen and treated with a re-challenge strategy between January 2010 and December 2014 in our institution.

The median OS and PFS observed from the second line were 11.2 months and 6.5 months for the subset re-challenged by EXTREME or PCC regimens respectively.

Conclusions: This study suggest re-challenging strategy by these regimens could be considered beyond the first line as an option when the platin free interval is greater than 3 months.

Figure 2: Selection process.

"The survival outcome of patients with a loco-regional or metastatic recurrences of head and neck squamous carcinoma is dismal."

These results have supported the EXTREME protocol approval as the standard of care for R/M HNSCC in first line.

Herein, we report a series of patients with R/M HNSCC, re-challenged in second line by a platinum and cetuximab-containing regimen.

"In the literature, it has been widely accepted that patients progressing within 6 months after the last platinum dose had a refractory disease.

This point suggested that patients who progressed sooner than 6 months from the last platinum dose might not be refractory to the platinum salts in this setting."

Full text - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.26506

Correspondence to - Pierre Coliat - pcoliat@strasbourg.unicancer.fr

Keywords - HNSCC, EXTREME, re-challenge, platinum free Interval