NASOPHARYNGEAL CANCER

Locally-Advanced Nasopharyngeal Cancer (NPC)

Nimotuzumab has been studied in 1 clinical trial in NPC indication involving a total of 136 patients in China. There is now 1 ongoing study in China involving more than 482 patients as of August 2018.

For a complete publication and list of clinical trial on nimotuzumab in NPC please contact us here.

Below is an excerpt from a study in China as presented at ASCO (2016), publication of completed study in process: Lin Kong et al. Radiation plus concurrent nimotuzumab versus cisplatin for locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer. Interim Analysis, presented in ASCO Annual Meeting 2016.

 

Disease state

• Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common primary malignant tumour of the nasopharynx.
• The incidence of NPC shows considerable variation in different regions of the world. It is a relatively uncommon cancer in the West NPC has an intermediate incidence of 5 to 9 cases per 100,000 population per year in Northern China, the Mediterranean basin (Southern Italy, Greece and Turkey), North Africa and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore). It is particularly common in Southern China where the incidence rates may range from 10 to 150 per 100,000 population.
• NPC affects a relatively younger age group of patients. Survival at 5 years was 72% for the youngest age group (15–45 years) and 36% in the oldest group of patients (65–74 years).
• About 80% to 90% overexpression of EGFR was reported in NPC. Increased expression of EGFR in advanced stage NPC patients has been reported and is associated with poor survival.
• The standard line of therapy used in locally advanced unresectable NPC is concurrent chemoradiotherapy with or without adjuvant chemotherapy.

 

Study Design

 

The percentages of patients showing skin rash and mucosities were lower in nimotuzumab group compared to the control group.

 

Nimotuzumab produces similar PFS and OS as compared to control group with concurrent RT for LA-NPC on 2 and 3-year follow up
 

 

Patients treated with Nimotuzumab following the TFP induction chemotherapy showed significantly less GI and hematologic toxicities compared to the patients in control group.