A Clinical Trial Found a Cisplatin Alternative for Head-and-Neck Cancers

(HealthDay News) — Cisplatin is the go-to chemotherapy for people battling head-and-neck cancers, but nearly a third of patients can’t tolerate its side effects and quit the drug. A new trial offers surprising results on the best second-line drug to use in these cases. The monoclonal antibody cetuximab (Erbitux) was more effective than a newer drug, the immune checkpoint inhibitor medicine durvalumab (Imfinzi), in fighting head-and-neck tumors, the trial found. The difference in outcomes was so great that researchers discontinued the trial early so that all patients could switch to cetuximab. “Our study helps reinforce that radiation with cetuximab is a very good alternative for patients who cannot get standard cisplatin,” said study lead author Dr. Loren Mell. He is professor and vice chair of clinical and translational research at University of California San Diego School of Medicine. The findings were published recently in The Lancet Oncology. Black Americans with a form of head or neck cancer are twice as likely to die of the illness compared to white patients. As the researchers noted, head-and-neck cancers are relatively common, ranking seventh worldwide in total cancer cases.  Smoking, drinking and HPV infection are all risk factors for these tumors, which can...