To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Sequential Therapy Shows Improved Outcomes for Cancers of the Larynx and Hypopharynx: Presented at ASCO URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/222AB2.htm Doctor's Guide June 2, 2008
By Bruce Sylvester CHICAGO -- June 2, 2008 -- Sequential therapy with induction docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) may be a preferable treatment option for patients with advanced cancers of the larynx and hypopharynx, researchers reported here at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 44th Annual Meeting. "We saw a significant improvement in survival with the use of this therapeutic sequence, and we saw a highly significant 20% improvement in laryngectomy-free survival in patients who received TPF versus PF [cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil]," investigator Marshall Posner, MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, noted here in a poster presentation on June 1. These results are part of a subgroup analysis of data from the phase 3 Tax 324 trial (Posner MR et al. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:1705-1715). The Tax 324 trial compared sequential therapy with induction TPF to PF, with both arms followed by CRT with weekly carboplatin. In Tax 324, investigators reported that TPF therapy reduced the risk of death by 30% (P = .006) and the risk of disease progression or death by 29% (P = .004) compared to PF in patients with head and neck cancer. The investigators in this subanalysis identified all patients with larynx or hypopharynx cancer who were enrolled in Tax 324. They collected and analysed data from Case Report Forms, and defined laryngectomy-free survival as those subjects with operable disease who were alive and had undergone no primary-site surgery. Of the 501 evaluable subjects in Tax 324, 89 patients were found to have larynx cancer and 77 to have hypopharynx cancer. Of these 166 subjects, 90 had been randomised to TPF and 76 had been randomised to PF. With 41 months median follow-up, median overall survival was 59 months for the TPF arm versus 24 months for the PF arm, (hazard ratio [HR] for mortality = .62, P = .02). The median progression-free survival was 21 months for the TPF arm versus 11 months for the PF arm (HR = .66, P = .03). In analysing the 67 TPF and 56 PF operable subjects, investigators found that laryngectomy-free survival was significantly greater for the TPF group (HR = .59, P = .03). Three-year laryngectomy-free survival was 52% in the TPF arm versus 32% in the PF arm. The authors summarised their findings, noting that, compared with PF, induction therapy with TPF is associated with significant absolute improvements of 14% in progression-free survival (P = .032) and 17% in overall survival (P = .024) at 3 years; an absolute reduction of 20% (P = .030) in the need for locoregional surgery; and an improvement of 20% (P = .030) in laryngectomy-free survival at 3 years. Dr. Posner added, "All of this points toward triple chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy as being a reasonable standard of care for larynx preservation and improved survival for patients with larynx and hypopharynx cancers." [Presentation title: Sequential Therapy for Locally Advanced Larynx and Hypopharynx Cancer: Subgroup Analysis From the TAX 324 Study. Abstract 6031] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.