Erlotinib, Celecoxib and Reirradiation for Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer

Summary

There is no optimal treatment for patients with recurrent head and neck cancer after previous radiation. Chemotherapy alone is not curative and patients survive an average of only 6 to 10 months. Surgery is not always possible and often cannot remove every cancerous cell. On the other hand, reirradiation with chemotherapy cures approximately 25 to 30% of patients but has significant toxicity with as many as 15 to 20% suffering from life-threatening or fatal complications. Therefore, less toxic and more effective reirradiation regimens are urgently needed. There are extensive data from animal studies and preliminary human studies showing that blocking epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and COX-2 enhances radiation effect and is more effective than either treatment alone. Erlotinib is a FDA approved oral inhibitor of EGFR and celecoxib is a FDA approved COX-2 inhibitor. Both have been well studied in humans and appear to have less severe toxicity than conventional chemotherapeutic agents.

Timeline

Start

2007-02

Primary completion

2010-11

Completion

2010-11

Publications

• Background Salama JK, Vokes EE, Chmura SJ, Milano MT, Kao J, Stenson KM, Witt ME, Haraf DJ. Long-term outcome of concurrent chemotherapy and reirradiation for recurrent and second primary head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2006 Feb 1;64(2):382-91. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2005.07.005. Epub 2005 Oct 5.
• Background Kao J, Garofalo MC, Milano MT, Chmura SJ, Citron JR, Haraf DJ. Reirradiation of recurrent and second primary head and neck malignancies: a comprehensive review. Cancer Treat Rev. 2003 Feb;29(1):21-30. doi: 10.1016/s0305-7372(02)00096-8.
• Background J. Kao, S. H. Packer, M. Teng, V. Gupta, K. Misiukiewicz, E. M. Genden; Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, J Clin Oncol 28:15s, 2010 (suppl; abstr 5561).
• Results Kao J, Genden EM, Chen CT, Rivera M, Tong CC, Misiukiewicz K, Gupta V, Gurudutt V, Teng M, Packer SH. Phase 1 trial of concurrent erlotinib, celecoxib, and reirradiation for recurrent head and neck cancer. Cancer. 2011 Jul 15;117(14):3173-81. doi: 10.1002/cncr.25786. Epub 2011 Jan 18.

Drugs

Indications