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Use of Pharmacogenetics to Select Erbitux or Cisplatin to Treat Head and Neck Cancer

A Pilot Prospective Clinical Trial to Use Pharmacogenetics (PGx) to Select Erbitux or Cisplatin to Treat Head and Neck Cancer

Status
Terminated
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01790516
Enrollment
2
Registered
2013-02-13
Start date
2012-05-31
Completion date
2013-06-30
Last updated
2014-10-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer

Keywords

Head and neck cancer, genetic testing, cisplatin, erbitux, radiation therapy

Brief summary

This study is for patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of using genetic variations in patients to select the right drug to treat head and neck cancer. Cisplatin and cetuximab (Erbitux)are both approved by the FDA to treat head and neck cancer in combination with radiation therapy. In this study the investigators will test whether genetic differences between patients can be used to pick which of these two drugs a patient should receive. All patients will have a blood sample drawn that will be tested for genetic differences. If patients have genetic differences that correlate with a better outcome from cisplatin they will receive cisplatin with radiation. If patients have genetic differences that do not correlate with a better outcome from cisplatin they will receive cetuximab with their radiation therapy.

Detailed description

Treatment-naive patients with locally advanced, non-metastatic (Stage III to IVB) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who are candidates for concurrent chemoradiotherapy as primary therapy with curative intent will be enrolled. Patients will be genotyped for germline variations at four SNP loci in three genes involved in DNA nucleotide excision repair (ERCC1, ERCC2, and XRCC1). Patients with 3 to 8 variants will receive cisplatin (Arm A). Patients with 2 or fewer variants will receive cetuximab (Arm B). The hypothesis of the study is that prospectively testing patients for variations in DNA repair enzymes to determine whether to use cisplatin or cetuximab in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer is feasible.

Interventions

RADIATIONRadiation

daily radiation for 7 weeks

DRUGCisplatin

Cisplatin 100 mg/m2 during weeks 1,4, and 7 of radiation therapy

DRUGcetuximab

Cetuximab beginning at a dose of 400 mg/m2 the week before radiation commences and then 250 mg/m2 weekly during weeks 1 and 7 of radiation.

Sponsors

Georgetown University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Biopsy proven squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, including the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx, but not including primary tumors of the nasopharynx, sinuses, or salivary glands. * Locally advanced, Stage III to IVB disease, and a candidate for primary therapy using chemotherapy and radiation therapy with curative intent. * Patients with a diagnosis of 'unknown primary' will be eligible if chemoradiotherapy is the primary modality of treatment * No previous chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery for their diagnosis of head and neck cancer * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status \</= 1 * Women of child-bearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test within 30 hours before initiation of study drug dosing. Female subjects of reproductive potential must agree to avoid pregnancy throughout the study and for up to 3 months following discontinuation of study drug. Male subjects must agree to avoid conceiving a child throughout the study and for up to 3 months following discontinuation of study drug; * Hemoglobin \>/= 8.0 gm/dL * Absolute neutrophil count \>/= 1500 * Platelet count \>/= 100,000 * Glomerular Filtration Rate \> 50 mL/min calculated by the Cockcroft-Gault equation * Total bilirubin \</= 2.0 times the upper limit of normal unless the patient has Gilbert's syndrome * Aspartate aminotransferase and Alanine Aminotransferase \</= 2.5 times the upper limit of normal * No other current malignancy, other than basal cell skin cancer, squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer, ductal or lobular in situ of the breast. Patients with other malignancies are eligible if they have been continuously disease-free for \>/= 3 years prior to screening for this protocol. * Age of 18 or older * Ability and willingness to give informed consent * Subjects must in the opinion of the Investigator be capable of complying with this protocol.

Exclusion criteria

* Acute treatment for an infection or other serious medical illness within 14 days prior to study entry * Major surgery within 3 weeks prior to study entry * Known hypersensitivity to cisplatin or cetuximab * Patients who have any severe or uncontrolled medical conditions or other conditions that could affect their participation in this study, including: unstable angina, serious uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia, active acute or uncontrolled infectious disorder, or myocardial infarction \</= 6 months prior to study entry. * Female patients who are pregnant or breast feeding, or adults who are of reproductive potential and are unwilling to refrain from conceiving a child during study treatment. * Patients unwilling to comply with the protocol, or provide informed consent * Psychiatric illness that would limit compliance with study requirements

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Feasibility of Returning Genetic Testing Results in a Timely Manner to the Treating Physician20 monthsFeasibility is defined as follows: \- Patients' genetic test results are returned to the treating physician within 3 days

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Cisplatin
Intensity modulated radiation with concurrent cisplatin platinum plus radiation: Cisplatin 100 mg/m2 during weeks 1,4, and 7 of radiation therapy
1
Cetuximab
Intensity modulated radiation therapy with concurrent cetuximab cetuximab plus radiation therapy: Cetuximab beginning at a dose of 400 mg/m2 the week before radiation commences and then 250 mg/m2 weekly during weeks 1 and 7 of radiation.
1
Total2

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000FG001
Overall StudyPhysician Decision10

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicCisplatinCetuximabTotal
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
1 Participants1 Participants2 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
1 Participants1 Participants2 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
1 Participants1 Participants2 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
1 participants1 participants2 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
1 Participants1 Participants2 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 10 / 1
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 10 / 1

Outcome results

Primary

Feasibility of Returning Genetic Testing Results in a Timely Manner to the Treating Physician

Feasibility is defined as follows: \- Patients' genetic test results are returned to the treating physician within 3 days

Time frame: 20 months

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
CisplatinFeasibility of Returning Genetic Testing Results in a Timely Manner to the Treating Physician3 days
CetuximabFeasibility of Returning Genetic Testing Results in a Timely Manner to the Treating Physician3 days

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026