Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Targeting in Head and Neck Cancer: Have We Been Just Skimming the Surface?
Menés respectivement sur 204 et 270 patients atteints d'un carcinome épidermoïde localement avancé de la tête et du cou, ces deux essais de phase II et phase III évaluent, du point de vue de la survie, l'efficacité de molécules ciblant le récepteur EGFR (erlotinib ou gefitinib)
Despite extensive research in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) remains the only nonchemotherapeutic molecular target that has been successfully translated into a biologic therapy with clinical benefit. Targeting this transmembrane tyrosine kinase growth factor receptor in SCCHN is an attractive and rational strategy given that more than 90% of these tumors overexpress EGFR. The potential value of EGFR as a therapeutic target is also supported by the observation that poor prognostic outcomes have been correlated with increased EGFR protein expression or EGFR gene copy number amplification.1-3 Traditional anti-EGFR strategies include monoclonal antibodies (MABs) that block the extracellular ligand-binding domain and small molecule inhibitors that reversibly inhibit activation of the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase. Currently, the only approved targeted therapy in SCCHN is cetuximab, the chimeric immunoglobulin G1 antibody to EGFR...
Journal of Clinical Oncology , éditorial, 2013