Weekly cetuximab (CET) plus oxaliplatin (OX), infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and radiation therapy (RT) as neoadjuvant treatment for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC): A phase I study of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internistische Onkologie (AIO)
e15507 Background: CET, a chimeric monoclonal IgG1 antibody that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), has proven activity in a variety of SCC models in vitro and in vivo and has also been shown to enhance the activity of both chemo- and radiotherapy. Methods: Patients (pts) with locally advanced ESCC received CET for 2 weeks at an initial dose of 400mg/m2 (d - 15) i.v. followed by 250mg/m2(d -8) before they started a neoadjuvant dose escalation regimen. Pts received weekly CET 250mg/m2 plus RT 25 x 1.8 Gy (cumulative dose 45 Gy) d1–33. Cohort 1–3 received escalating doses of OX 45–50 mg/m2 d1,8,22,29 plus 5-FU 180–200–225 mg/m2/d; d1–5,8–12,15–19,22–26,29–33). Surgery was scheduled 4–6 weeks after RT. Toxicity was assessed according to NCI-CTC. Response was categorized according to the histopathologic score. Results: 15 pts were enrolled (2 female, 13 male; mean age 62 years, ECOG-PS 0 or 1). All pts had locally advanced SCC (uT2–4, cNx, cM0–1a) of the cervical (n=1), the upper (n=5) or the distal (n=7) esophagus. 6 pts were treated in cohort 1 and 3 pts in cohort 2 without any dose limiting toxicity (DLT). Of 6 pts treated in cohort 3, 1 pt developed grade 3 diarrhea and mucositis. All other observed toxicities were mild or moderate: anemia n=12, neutropenia n=2, thrombocytopenia n=3, nausea/vomiting n=8, mucositis n=6, diarrhea n=4, neuropathy n=4, hand-foot-syndrome n=8, skin rash n=14, no infection and no infusion-related reactions were observed. 12 pts underwent abdomino-thoracic esophagectomy with no postop. mortality; 3 pts were not resected. 8/12 resected pts had an R0 resection (67%) and 4 pts (33%) achieved a histopathological complete response (score 1a). Conclusions: 2 weeks of CET (400mg/m2 and 250mg/m2) followed by weekly CET (250mg/m2) plus OX 50mg/m2 d1,8,22,29, 5-FU 225 mg/m2/d d1–5,8–12,15–19,22–26,29–33 and RT 45 Gy (1.8Gy/f) was shown to be safe as neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced ESCC. The anti-tumor activity of this regimen is promising and is being further investigated in an ongoing phase II study. [Table: see text]