Safety and efficacy of nimotuzumab in combination with radiotherapy for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus

• Published in: International journal of clinical oncology 2014-04, Vol.19 (2), p.297-302
• Main Authors: Ma, Ning-Yi, Cai, Xu-Wei, Fu, Xiao-Long, Li, Yuan, Zhou, Xiao-Yan, Wu, Xiang-Hua, Hu, Xi-Chun, Fan, Min, Xiang, Jia-Qing, Zhang, Ya-Wei, Chen, Hai-Quan, Lai, Song-Tao, Jiang, Guo-Liang, Zhao, Kuai-Le
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - adverse effects; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - therapeutic use; Cancer Research; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - mortality; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - therapy; Chemoradiotherapy - adverse effects; Chemotherapy; Clinical outcomes; Disease-Free Survival; Epidermal growth factor; Esophageal cancer; Esophageal Neoplasms - mortality; Esophageal Neoplasms - pathology; Esophageal Neoplasms - therapy; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Monoclonal antibodies; Oncology; Original Article; Radiation therapy; Retrospective Studies; Surgical Oncology; Tumor Burden
• ISSN: 1341-9625; 1437-7772
• DOI: 10.1007/s10147-013-0564-3

Background We investigated nimotuzumab (h-R3), a humanized monoclonal antibody against epidermal growth factor receptor, when combined with irradiation or chemoradiation for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the esophagus. The aim of this study was to evaluate its safety and efficacy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 66 patients with esophageal SCC treated with a combination of h-R3 and radiation or chemoradiation between December 2008 and September 2011 at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Fifty-two of the 66 patients received h-R3 combined with chemoradiation and 14 received h-R3 plus radiation. The median total irradiation dose was 61 Gy given by conventional fractionation. The h-R3 weekly dosage was 100 mg (6/66), 200 mg (54/66), or 400 mg (6/66) given concurrently during the irradiation period. Results Patients tolerated the treatment well. Grade 3–4 adverse events and toxicities occurred in 50 % of the patients. h-R3-related toxicities manifested as Grade 1 skin rash in 1 case and Grade 2 infusion-related reaction in 2 cases. The median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 26.0 months and 16.7 months, respectively. OS, PFS and locoregional control (LC) at 2 years were 54, 37 and 80 %, respectively. Conclusions h-R3 in combination with irradiation or chemoradiation was safe and tolerable, and yielded encouraging OS, PFS and LC.