Abstract
Objective
To assess the efficacy and safety of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy versus non-anti-EGFR therapy for advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Methods
The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, and Embase databases were searched for relevant reports. Quantitative analysis was carried out to evaluate the overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS), and grade 3–4 adverse effects.
Results
Ten reports involving 2,396 patients were included. Primary meta-analysis indicated that anti-EGFR therapy could improve ORR [relative risk (RR) 1.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12–1.67] and PFS [hazard ratio (HR) 0.63, 95% CI 0.55–0.71), but failed to improve OS (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.74–1.03). In subgroup analyses, we found that monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) could improve ORR, OS, and PFS for both locoregionally advanced (LA) (ORR: 1.21, 1.08–1.37; OS: 0.72, 0.59–0.89; PFS: 0.66, 0.53–0.83) and recurrent/metastatic (RM) HNSCC (ORR: 1.88, 1.40–2.54; OS: 0.79, 0.67–0.94; PFS: 0.61, 0.52–0.71), while tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) did not improve any of these in patients with either LA (ORR: 1.09, 0.91–1.32; OS: 0.7, 0.31–1.63; PFS: 0.71, 0.34–1.52) or RM (ORR: 1.65, 0.84–3.24; OS: 1.13, 0.97–1.31; PFS: not available) HNSCC. Analysis of adverse effects demonstrated that rash (RR 14.34, 95% CI 5.02–41.02), diarrhea (2.36, 1.15–4.87), and anorexia (2.49, 1.11–5.56) were significantly associated with anti-EGFR therapy.
Conclusions
Anti-EGFR Mabs are effective for both LA and RM HNSCC. In contrast, TKIs were unsuitable for treatment of advanced HNSCC. During anti-EGFR therapy, rash and some gastrointestinal reactions, such as diarrhea and anorexia, should be carefully monitored.
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Acknowledgements
The study was supported by the grant from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81172561).
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Zhang, S., Chen, J., Jiang, H. et al. Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor therapy for advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 68, 561–569 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-011-1194-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-011-1194-1