Outcome of patients treated with palliative weekly Paclitaxel plus Cetuximab in recurrent head and neck cancer after failure of platinum-based therapy

Few therapeutic options are available for recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer when progression occurs after initial chemotherapy. We analyzed retrospectively the efficacy of weekly Paclitaxel plus Cetuximab as second line of palliative chemotherapy. Patients with squamous carcinoma of head and neck with documented progression after initial treatment were enrolled. Tumor response was evaluated through the response evaluation criteria in solid tumor criteria. The retrospective analysis focused on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Between 2008 and 2011, 33 consecutive patients were treated. A response rate of 55 % was observed, with median response duration of 5.0 months (95 % CI 3.3–11.1). The median PFS was 4.0 months (95 % CI 2.9–5.0) and the median OS time was 10.0 months (95 % CI 7.9–12.0). Acne-like rash/Folliculitis and chronic anemia were the most common adverse events. A weekly schedule of Paclitaxel plus Cetuximab is a promising regimen for patients with advanced head and neck cancer after failure of platinum-based therapy. Good tolerance of this treatment suggests that would be used in fragile patients.