OBJECTIVES: Real-world first line (1L) treatment patterns and outcomes in patients with R/M SCCHN are not fully known. A retrospective chart review was conducted in France, Germany and the UK to characterize patients, treatment and outcomes.

METHODS: Nineteen oncologists contributed data on 109 patients age ≥18 years diagnosed with R/M SCCHN between 01-Jan-2014 and 31-Dec-2016. Patients were followed through May 2020 or until death. Clinical trial participants were excluded. Demographics and treatments were analyzed descriptively. Overall survival (OS) and real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS) were quantified using Kaplan-Meier analysis, censoring for chart abstraction date in surviving non-progressing patients.

RESULTS: Patients were a mean (SD) age of 61 (10) years and 63% were known current or former tobacco users at R/M SCCHN diagnosis. At 1L treatment initiation for R/M SCCHN, 62% were platinum naïve/de novo metastatic, 15% were deemed platinum sensitive, and the remainder were platinum refractory or unknown. EXTREME (Cetuximab+Cisplatin+5-Fluorouracil) was administered to 29%, 28% received platinum combination therapy with or without a taxane, 27% received platinum monotherapy, and 9% received other cetuximab-based therapy and the remainder receiving “other”. For all 1L R/M SCCHN patients, median OS (95%CI) was 10.0 (7.1, 12.8) months, and rwPFS was 5.9 (4.1, 7.7) months. Landmark 6, 12, 24- and 36-month OS was 69.4%, 45.5%, 24.2% and 15.4%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Cetuximab and platinum-based regimens were the mainstay of therapy in 1L R/M SCCHN, with a grim prognosis. This study highlights the need for more effective treatments in a patient population with a significant level of unmet need.