Testing docetaxel-cetuximab or the addition of an immunotherapy drug, atezolizumab, to the usual chemotherapy and radiation therapy in high-risk head and neck cancer
NRG RTOG-1216 is a clinical study that is testing two different types of drug therapy combined with radiation for people receiving treatment after their surgery for high-risk head and neck cancer. This study has two parts and the first part of the study has already been completed. The initial results showed that the chemotherapy drugs docetaxel and cetuximab given with radiation therapy is better than docetaxel alone with radiation therapy in controlling high-risk head and neck cancer. In the second part of the study, which is now seeking volunteers, doctors want to learn if docetaxel and cetuximab with radiation therapy or cisplatin plus the immunotherapy drug, atezolizumab, with radiation therapy is better than the usual approach to treating HPV-negative head and neck cancer. The usual approach for patients who are not in a study is the combination of cisplatin chemotherapy and radiation therapy. As an immunotherapy drug, atezolizumab is different from the other drugs in the study in that it works by stimulating the body’s own immune system to fight cancer instead of directly attacking cancer cells. It is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat other cancers, but not head and neck cancer. Doctors want to learn if atezolizumab could be helpful for treating high-risk head and neck cancer and this is one of the reasons why this second part of the study is being conducted.
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