New clinical trial seeks alternatives for head and neck cancer patients unable to use cisplatin
A physician-scientist at the University of Oklahoma is part of an international effort seeking new options for patients with head and neck cancer who cannot receive the standard chemotherapy drug cisplatin.
Because cisplatin can damage the kidneys and cochlea, patients who have kidney problems or hearing loss are usually not candidates to take the drug. The search for alternatives has been challenging. University of Oklahoma radiation oncologist Christina Henson, M.D., is a co-author of a recent publication in the journal Lancet that tested the effectiveness of the immunotherapy drug durvalumab combined with radiation therapy, as an alternative to cisplatin. Durvalumab was compared to another immunotherapy drug, cetuximab.
