ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In daily clinical practice second-line chemotherapy (SLCT) is frequently given to patients with advanced pancreatic cancer failing gemcitabine-based first-line chemotherapy without solid scientific support. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective survey was carried out including 42 patients. Patients received standard FOLFOX4 regimen biweekly until progression or unacceptable toxicity. RESULTS: Six partial responses (14%) and 16 stabilizations (38%) were recorded for a tumor growth control rate of 57%. The median time to progression (TtP) was 4 months (range 1-7 months), and median overall survival (OS) was 6.7 months (range 2-9 months). A stabilization of performance status (PS) and a subjective improvement of cancer-related symptoms were recorded in 27 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Data presented in this paper support the use of FOLFOX4 regimen in the second-line treatment of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas patients. The use of SLCT, however, should be carefully proposed to patients with good PS or those who had a good response to first-line therapy.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Pancreatic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Adenocarcinoma/mortality , Adult , Aged , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant/adverse effects , Drug Resistance, Multiple , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm , Female , Fluorouracil/adverse effects , Fluorouracil/therapeutic use , Humans , Leucovorin/adverse effects , Leucovorin/therapeutic use , Male , Middle Aged , Organoplatinum Compounds/adverse effects , Organoplatinum Compounds/therapeutic use , Pancreatic Neoplasms/mortality , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antagonist, cetuximab, has recently been shown to enhance the effects of radiotherapy, and reports to date indicate that this effect occurs without any change in the pattern and severity of toxicity usually associated with head and neck radiation and/or chemotherapy (CT) administration. Moreover, several studies have reported that the expression of EGFR is strongly linked to poor outcome in patients undergoing therapy. Therefore, the presence of the EGFR in almost all cases of head and neck carcinoma offers a new therapeutic opportunity to most patients. In this paper, we report a review of the major studies dealing with the use of cetuximab in advanced head and neck cancer.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Head and Neck Neoplasms/drug therapy , Animals , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/radiotherapy , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/secondary , Cetuximab , Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic , Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic , Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology , Head and Neck Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Humans , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local , Radiation-Sensitizing Agents/therapeutic useABSTRACT
In recent years, the introduction of targeted therapies into clinical practice seems to offer incremental benefits in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), mainly when they are employed in combination with optimal chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. In this paper, we focus on Cetuximab and its role in the treatment of mCRC.
