Efficacy and toxicity of nimotuzumab combined with radiotherapy in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

  • Authors:
    • Jin‑Hua Guo
    • Ming‑Qiu Chen
    • Cheng Chen
    • Hai‑Jie Lu
    • Ben‑Hua Xu
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: July 21, 2015     https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2015.606
  • Pages: 1135-1138
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Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the efficacy and toxicity of nimotuzumab combined with radiotherapy (RT) in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The clinical data of 16 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients, aged >70 years, who were initially treated with nimotuzumab combined with RT, were collected and retrospectively reviewed. The overall response and treatment toxicity were analyzed using SPSS software. All the patients completed the treatment schedule. The response to treatment was assessed at treatment completion and reassessed after 1‑2 months: 1 patient achieved complete response (CR), 10 patients achieved partial response (PR), 4 patients exhibited stable disease and 1 patient developed disease progression and succumbed to radiation pneumonitis (RP) 1 month later. The overall response rate (CR+PR) was 68.8%. All 16 patients experienced grade 1‑2 radiation esophagitis; no grade 3‑4 toxicities were reported. There was one case of treatment‑related mortality due to RP during the study. One patient developed a rash on the forearm. No hematological, gastrointestinal, hepatic or renal toxicities were observed. In conclusion, the toxicity of combined nimotuzumab with RT in elderly patients with esophageal cancer was tolerable. However, due to limitations associated with the retrospective nature of this study, the limited number of enrolled cases and the epidermal growth factor receptor expression determination prior to treatment, the efficacy of this treatment modality requires further investigation.
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September-2015
Volume 3 Issue 5

Print ISSN: 2049-9450
Online ISSN:2049-9469

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Spandidos Publications style
Guo JH, Chen MQ, Chen C, Lu HJ and Xu BH: Efficacy and toxicity of nimotuzumab combined with radiotherapy in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Mol Clin Oncol 3: 1135-1138, 2015.
APA
Guo, J., Chen, M., Chen, C., Lu, H., & Xu, B. (2015). Efficacy and toxicity of nimotuzumab combined with radiotherapy in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Molecular and Clinical Oncology, 3, 1135-1138. https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2015.606
MLA
Guo, J., Chen, M., Chen, C., Lu, H., Xu, B."Efficacy and toxicity of nimotuzumab combined with radiotherapy in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma". Molecular and Clinical Oncology 3.5 (2015): 1135-1138.
Chicago
Guo, J., Chen, M., Chen, C., Lu, H., Xu, B."Efficacy and toxicity of nimotuzumab combined with radiotherapy in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma". Molecular and Clinical Oncology 3, no. 5 (2015): 1135-1138. https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2015.606