PARTNER: A randomized phase II study of docetaxel/cisplatin (doc/cis) chemotherapy with or without panitumumab (pmab) as first-line treatment (tx) for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (R/M SCCHN).
6029 Background: PARTNER was a multicenter, randomized phase II estimation study evaluating 1stEline tx of R/M SCCHN with doc/cis ± pmab. Methods: Patients (pts) were randomized 1:1 to doc/cis with pmab (Arm 1) or doc/cis alone (Arm 2). Arm 1 received 9 mg/kg pmab on day 1 of each 21-day cycle, and all pts received 1stEline doc/cis both at 75 mg/m2 on day 1 for up to 6 cycles. In Arm 1, pts could receive pmab monotherapy upon completion of 6 cycles of doc/cis until disease progression (PD). In Arm 2, pts could receive pmab as 2ndEline monotherapy upon PD. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and safety. HPV status was determined using p16 INK IHC. No formal hypothesis was tested. Results: Baseline characteristics were balanced between arms. Of 103 pts, HPV status was evaluable in 66 (64%); 29% were HPV positive. Efficacy results are shown (Table). Worst grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) were 73% in Arm 1 vs 56% in Arm 2. Conclusions: Median PFS was increased in both arms over historical doublet cytotoxic chemotherapy. PFS and ORR were higher in the pmab arm in the overall population, in the HPV positive (n=19) group, and in the HPV negative (n=47) group. There was an increase in grade 3/4 AEs with this regimen. The crossover design, with 57% of Arm 2 pts receiving pmab as 2ndEline monotherapy, confounds interpretation of OS. Clinical trial information: NCT00454779. [Table: see text]