Neoadjuvant TPF in locally advanced head and neck cancer can be followed by radiotherapy combined with cisplatin or cetuximab: a study of 157 patients.

Neoadjuvant TPF (docetaxel, cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil), followed by radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy with weekly carboplatin, increases overall survival and organ preservation. We assessed whether TPF could be used in routine practice and whether radiotherapy potentiated with cisplatin or cetuximab was feasible and could increase survival. We retrospectively reviewed 157 patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with TPF in four French institutions between May 2005 and March 2009. After induction, operable patients had undergone surgery and were irradiated, and potentiated in some cases with cetuximab or cisplatin. Most patients (79%) had been treated with organ preservation strategies. The two most common sites were the hypopharynx (34%) and the oropharynx (30%). The response rate to TPF was 84%, including 26% with a complete response. Radiotherapy had been provided to 144 (92%) patients (of whom 17 had received radiotherapy alone, 46 had received q3w cisplatin, 30 had received q1w cisplatin, and 37 had received cetuximab). Potentiation had been achieved as planned in 59, 63, and 62% of patients treated with q3w cisplatin, q1w cisplatin, and cetuximab, respectively. After a median follow-up of 39.9 months, the median overall survival was 43 months. No significant difference was observed in progression-free survival or overall survival according to the type of potentiation. This study confirms the efficacy and tolerability of TPF induction, followed by chemoradiation, with outcomes similar to those for patients irradiated without induction. The best potentiation of radiotherapy after induction has not yet been determined.