Korean J Intern Med.  2019 Sep;34(5):1107-1115. 10.3904/kjim.2017.234.

Efficacy and safety of cisplatin and weekly docetaxel in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

• Kim MJ
• Kim SM
• Jung HA
• Hong JY
• Chang WJ
• Choi MK
• Kim HS
• Sun JM
• Park K
• Ahn MJ

• KMID: 2457034
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2017.234

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
We investigated the efficacy and toxicity of a weekly schedule of docetaxel and cisplatin as a first-line treatment in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC).
METHODS
In this study, 18 patients with previously diagnosed R/M HNSCC were treated with combination chemotherapy of weekly docetaxel 35 mg/m² (day 1 and 8) and cisplatin 70 mg/m² (day 1) as first-line chemotherapy, repeated every 3 weeks.
RESULTS
Partial response and stable disease were observed in six patients (33.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 11.1% to 55.6%) and six patients (33.3%; 95% CI, 11.1% to 55.6%), respectively. The median overall survival and progression-free survival were 11.26 months (95% CI, 8.87 to 15.83) and 5.68 months (95% CI, 4.80 to 6.51), respectively. The major toxicity was grade 1/2 anemia (50%). Grade 3/4 neutropenia was observed in one patient (5.6%). Among the non-hematologic toxicities, grade 1/2 hepatotoxicity was most common (22.2%), and grade 3/4 infection was observed in one patient (5.6%). There was no treatment-related mortality.
CONCLUSIONS
For patients with R/M HNSCC, a cisplatin and weekly docetaxel regimen showed high efficacy with tolerable toxicity as a first-line treatment.

Keyword

Cisplatin; Docetaxel; Head and neck neoplasms; Carcinoma, squamous cell

MeSH Terms

Anemia
Appointments and Schedules
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell*
Cisplatin*
Disease-Free Survival
Drug Therapy
Drug Therapy, Combination
Epithelial Cells*
Head and Neck Neoplasms
Head*
Humans
Mortality
Neck*
Neutropenia
Cisplatin