Nimotuzumab in Combination With TPF(Cisplatin ,Fluorouracil and Docetaxel) for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Overview

Nimotuzumab (hR3) is an humanized monoclonal antibody that recognized an epitope located in the extra cellular domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In phase II clinical trials a combination of Nimotuzumab with chemotherapy or radiation therapy achieved satisfactory therapeutic outcomes in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck, or glioblastoma. We therefore postulated that Nimotuzumab in combination with conventional definitive chemotherapy might improve the rate of disease control (RDC), progression-free survival (PFS),and overall survival in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic SCCHN , which is a poor-prognosis patient population for whom there is currently no standard treatment approach, we designed this trial to test this hypothesis.

Eligible patients were randomly assigned by using permutated blocks designed11 for each site to receive either Nimotuzumab combined with docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil regimen (Arm A) or docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil alone regimen (Arm B). Combination arm chemotherapy was as conducted as follows. Since day 1, Nimotuzumab (200 mg, given as a 2-hour intravenous infusion before chemotherapy, Biotech Pharmaceutical Inc., Beijing, China) was administrated 1 h before chemotherapy once a week for two successive courses, followed by docetaxel (at a dose of 75 mg per square meter of body-surface area) was administered as a 1-hour intravenous infusion, followed by intravenous cisplatin (75 mg per square meter), administered during a period of 0.5 to 3 hours. After completion of the cisplatin infusion, fluorouracil (1000 mg per square meter per day) was administered as a continuous 24-hour infusion for 4 days. Patients in arm A received docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracil only.One treatment cycle comprised a period of 3 weeks (21 days). Patients received six cycles in both treatment arms, unless disease progression or unacceptable toxicity was observed. Patients in the experimental group who had at least stable disease could choose to continue maintenance Nimotuzumab every week until disease progression, intolerable toxicity, or study withdrawal.