Vol. 1, Issue 1, Part F (2014)

Background and Objectives: To evaluate the toxicity profile and rate of immediate Loco regional response in patients with locally progressed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who were treated with daily Gefitinib and weekly Cisplatin.

Materials and Methods: 20 participants who met the inclusion criteria were included in this Phase II single arm research. This study was conducted at Department of Pharmacology, Maharajah’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Nellimarla, Vizianagaram, and Andhra Pradesh, between September 2013 to August 2014 After 6 weeks, the clinical examination and radiological imaging were used to evaluate the immediate locoregional response. This treatment's toxicity profile was evaluated using RTOG acute morbidity grading criteria.

Results: The study included 20 patients, 15 of whom were male. The most prevalent subsites were the oropharynx and hypopaharynx. Every single patient made it through their whole radiation and chemotherapy regimen. Assessment was conducted 6 weeks after therapy ended, and 76.6% of patients had a complete response, while 23.3% had a partial response. Patients with malignancies of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx responded well to the treatment. Although all patients experienced mucositis during treatment, the incidence of severe cases was minimal. The characteristic skin toxicity that is linked to gefitinib was only experienced by one patient.

Conclusion: When treating locally advanced head and neck cancer, concurrent chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin and Tablet gefitinib offers a viable alternative with tolerable toxicity, excellent patient compliance, and good therapeutic response. For gefitinib to be included to the standard treatment protocol and show a meaningful benefit, a large-scale trial is required.