Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2021 Nov:122:105566.
doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2021.105566. Epub 2021 Oct 18.

Risk and response adapted de-intensified treatment for HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer: Optima paradigm expanded experience

Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Risk and response adapted de-intensified treatment for HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer: Optima paradigm expanded experience

Ari J Rosenberg et al. Oral Oncol. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Favorable prognosis for Human papillomavirus-associated (HPV+) oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) led to investigation of response-adaptive de-escalation, yet long-term outcomes are unknown. We present expanded experience and follow-up of risk/response adaptive treatment de-intensification in HPV+ OPC.

Methods: A phase 2 trial (OPTIMA) and subsequent cohort of sequential off-protocol patients treated from September 2014 to November 2018 at the University of Chicago were reviewed. Eligible patients had T3-T4 or N2-3 (AJCC 7th edition) HPV+ OPC. Patients were stratified by risk: High-risk (HR) (T4, ≥N2c, or >10PYH), all others low-risk (LR). Induction chemotherapy (IC) included 3 cycles of carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel (OPTIMA) or paclitaxel (off-protocol). LR with ≥50% response received low-dose radiotherapy (RT) alone to 50 Gy (RT50). LR with 30-50% response and HR with ≥50% response received intermediate-dose chemoradiotherapy (CRT) to 45 Gy (CRT45). All others received full-dose CRT to 75 Gy (CRT75).

Results: 91 patients consented and 90 patients were treated, of which 31% had >10PYH, 34% had T3/4 disease, and 94% had N2b/N2c/N3 disease. 49% were LR and 51% were HR. Overall response rate to induction was 88%. De-escalated treatment was administered to 83%. Median follow-up was 4.2 years. Five-year OS, PFS, LRC, and DC were 90% (95% CI 81,95), 90% (95% CI 80,95), 96% (95% CI 90,99), and 96% (88,99) respectively. G-tube placement rates in RT50, CRT45, and CRT75 were 3%, 33%, and 80% respectively (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Risk/response adaptive de-escalated treatment for an inclusive cohort of HPV+ OPC demonstrates excellent survival with reduced toxicity with long-term follow-up.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Head and neck cancer; Human papillomavirus; Radiation therapy; Treatment de-intensification.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ disclosures of potential conflicts of interest:

Conflict of Interest Statement:

ZG, EB, JC, DG, AH, JC, SK, CF, NC, ML, EI, and DH report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
OPTIMA paradigm treatment schema for (A) low risk and (B) high risk.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Consort diagram with flow of patients treated per OPTIMA paradigm.
Figure 3:
Figure 3:
Overall survival for (A) All patients treated, (B) Stratified by high risk and low risk patients, and (C) Stratified by treatment group with RT50, CRT45, or CRT75.
Figure 3:
Figure 3:
Overall survival for (A) All patients treated, (B) Stratified by high risk and low risk patients, and (C) Stratified by treatment group with RT50, CRT45, or CRT75.
Figure 4:
Figure 4:
Progression free survival for (A) All patients treated, (B) Stratified by high risk and low risk patients, and (C) Stratified by treatment group with RT50, CRT45, or CRT75.
Figure 4:
Figure 4:
Progression free survival for (A) All patients treated, (B) Stratified by high risk and low risk patients, and (C) Stratified by treatment group with RT50, CRT45, or CRT75.
Figure 5:
Figure 5:
Enteral feeding dependency from the end of (chemo)radiation by treatment arm.

References

    1. Chaturvedi AK, Engels EA, Pfeiffer RM, Hernandez BY, Xiao W, Kim E, et al. Human Papillomavirus and Rising Oropharyngeal Cancer Incidence in the United States. 2011;29:4294–301. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tota JE, Best AF, Zumsteg ZS, Gillison ML, Rosenberg PS, Chaturvedi AK. Evolution of the Oropharynx Cancer Epidemic in the United States: Moderation of Increasing Incidence in Younger Individuals and Shift in the Burden to Older Individuals. J Clin Oncol. 2019;37:1538–46. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fakhry C, Westra WH, Li S, Cmelak A, Ridge JA, Pinto H, et al. Improved survival of patients with human papillomavirus-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in a prospective clinical trial. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2008;100:261–9. - PubMed
    1. Ang KK, Harris J, Wheeler R, Weber R, Rosenthal DI, Nguyen-Tan PF, et al. Human papillomavirus and survival of patients with oropharyngeal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:24–35. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rosenberg AJ, Vokes EE. Optimizing Treatment De-Escalation in Head and Neck Cancer: Current and Future Perspectives. Oncologist. 2020. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms