Carboplatin-based concurrent chemoradiation therapy in locally advanced head and neck cancer patients who are unfit for cisplatin therapy.

BACKGROUND

Cisplatin-based chemoradiation (CTRT) is the standard of care in locally advanced head and neck cancers. Limited treatment options are available in patients unfit for cisplatin.

AIMS

This audit was carried out to study the toxicities, tolerance, and outcomes of carboplatin-based CTRT in patients who are not eligible for cisplatin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 63 locally advanced head and neck cancer patients treated between January 2011 and October 2015 were administered carboplatin-based CTRT. The dose of carboplatin was equivalent to area under the curve equivalent to 2 administered once a week for a maximum of 7 cycles. Toxicity was coded as per the CTCAE version 4.03. SPSS software version 16 was used for statistical analysis.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Descriptive statistics was performed. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Cox proportional hazard model was used for identifying factors affecting PFS and OS.

RESULTS

The reasons for patients being unfit for cisplatin were low serum creatinine clearance in 41 (65.07%), sensorineural hearing loss in 18 (28.57%), uncontrolled medical comorbidities in 3 (4.76%), and old age in 1 patient (1.6%). 53 patients (84.1%) completed planned radiotherapy. The median number of chemotherapy cycles administered was 6. Grade 3-4 toxicities were seen in 32 patients (50.8%). The median OS and PFS were 28 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 20.9-34.6 months) and 17 months (95% CI: 08.2-25.7 months), respectively. Age was the only factor significantly affecting OS and PFS.

CONCLUSION

Carboplatin-based CTRT is well tolerated in patients unfit for cisplatin and seems to have superior outcomes than those reported in radical radiotherapy studies.