Eur J Cancer: Platinum + 5-Fluorouracil + Cetuximab can be used as a new first-line treatment for patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in China!

EXTREME regimen (chemotherapy [CT; cisplatin/carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil]) combined with cetuximab is the standard first-line for patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M SCCHN) ( 1L) Therapies, and are supported by international guidelines
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The CHANGE-2 trial is a randomized phase 3 clinical trial led by Professor Lin Tongyu from the Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University.
It evaluates an improved CT scheme (both chemotherapeutic doses are reduced) combined with cetuximab versus CT alone The effectiveness and safety of the program as the first-line therapy for Chinese R/M SCCHN patients
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The test patients were randomized to receive 6 courses of CT + cetuximab followed by cetuximab until the disease progressed, or CT regimen alone
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Progression-free survival and overall survival of the two groups of patients

In total, a total of 243 patients were randomly divided into two groups: 164 in the CT+cetuximab combination group and 79 in the CT group
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The occurrence of common adverse reactions in the two groups

The most common grade 3-4 adverse reactions requiring emergency treatment occurred in 61.
3% and 48.
7% of the combined group and CT group, respectively
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In summary, the results of the CHANGE-2 trial show that adding cetuximab to the improved platinum/5-fluorouracil regimen can significantly improve the median PFS, median OS and ORR of patients with R/M SCCHN, and it has not It has caused new or unexpected safety issues, confirming that CT combined with cetuximab can be used as a safe and effective first-line treatment for R/M SCCHN patients in China
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Guo Ye,Luo Yi,Zhang Qingyuan et al.