Blockage of EGFR Pathway for Anticancer Therapy in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
(2017) Squamous cell Carcinoma — ISBN: [9789402410839], p. 135-161, published
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- Abstract
- In squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) overexpression is linked with poor prognosis. Cetuximab is a chimeric IgG1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that specifically binds to the EGFR with high affinity. Cetuximab combined with radiotherapy (RT) improves loco-regional control and survival (OS) compared to RT alone in patients with stage III/IV SCCHN, and the addition of cetuximab to 5-fluorouracil and platinum-based chemotherapy improves OS in the first-line treatment of incurable disease. However, the addition of cetuximab to cisplatin-based chemoradiation does not improve progression-free survival (PFS) or OS and only a minority of patients benefits from anti-EGFR mAbs. Other anti-EGFR agents (potentially more potent anti-EGFR mAbs), multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and EGFR antisense are currently under investigation. Furthermore, treatment combinations with radio-and or chemotherapy regimens or other monoclonal antibodies have been evaluated and are also under investigation. Efforts to include translational research in all these trials are needed in order to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved, to define molecular criteria for the selection of appropriate patients for targeted therapy and to elucidate the anti-EGFR resistance mechanisms.
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Schmitz, S., & Machiels, J.-P. (2017). Blockage of EGFR Pathway for Anticancer Therapy in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck. In Warnakulasuriya, S. ; Khan, Zakir (eds.) (ed.), Squamous cell Carcinoma (p. p. 135-161). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1084-6_6