An observational study of symptomatic changes in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma following nimotuzumab administration one week before radiotherapy
10.3760/cma.j.cn113030-20240111-00013
- VernacularTitle:尼妥珠单抗负一周用药后鼻咽癌症状变化的观察性研究
- Author:
Zekun WANG
1
;
Jianghu ZHANG
;
Xuesong CHEN
;
Jingbo WANG
;
Runye WU
;
Ye ZHANG
;
Yuan QU
;
Kai WANG
;
Xiaodong HUANG
;
Junlin YI
;
Jingwei LUO
Author Information
1. 国家癌症中心/国家肿瘤临床医学研究中心/中国医学科学院北京协和医学院肿瘤医院放疗科，北京 100021
- Keywords:
Nasopharyngeal neoplasms;
Radiotherapy;
Symptoms;
Nimotuzumab
- From:
Chinese Journal of Radiation Oncology
2024;33(12):1125-1130
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To prospectively observe the changes of tumor-related symptoms in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma following the administration of nimotuzumab one week before radiotherapy.Methods:Non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with positive epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression and symptoms caused by the primary lesion or metastatic cervical lymph nodes admitted to Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were prospectively recruited. Investigators recorded tumor-related symptoms in recruited patients one day before the first administration of nimotuzumab (D0) and conducted follow-up visits from day 2 to day 7 after the first administration (D2-D7) to document symptom changes. All recruited patients were asked to assess tumor-related symptoms on D0 and D7 by visual analogue scale (VAS) scores. VAS scores were analyzed by paired t-test. Results:From June 2020 to April 2023, a total of 21 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median age was 49 years (range: 27-69 years), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.3:1. Among the patients, 17 patients (81%) received concurrent nimotuzumab for 8 cycles, 7 cycles for 3 cases (14%), and 6 cycles for 1 case (5%), respectively. All patients completed symptom assessments as required. The overall response rate of symptoms after the first administration of nimotuzumab was 62%, with response rates of 4/6、5/8、4/10、4/10、4/11、3/11 for tinnitus, headache, aural fullness, secondary pain caused by neck mass, nasal bleeding, and nasal obstruction, respectively. The VAS scores for overall symptoms were significantly decreased after the administration of nimotuzumab one week before radiotherapy ( P<0.001), with the most significant decrease in VAS scores for tinnitus, aural fullness, and headache. Conclusion:The administration of nimotuzumab one week before radiotherapy significantly alleviates tumor-related symptoms in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, particularly in alleviating tinnitus, aural fullness, and headache.
