okay i am gonna type this cause i don`t know how to put the article on here so here goes
in a study 39 patients with stage 3 or 4 head and neck cancers were treated initally with a combination of docetaxel, cisplatin and cetuximab, after which they recieved radiation therapy and additional cisplatin and cetuximab. cetuximab, approved by fda in march 2006 and also known as erbitux is often subscribed for metastatic colon cancerand is used in conjunction with radiation therapy to treat squamous cell carcinomas of head and neck. this is the first time it has been used in combination with docetaxel and cisplatin as induction therapy further evaluation of this treatment shows that complete disappearance of primary tumor occurred in about 80 percent of patients. more importantly after two years the same percentage of patients remained cancer free. okay you will have to look the rest of the story up cause i now have carpal tunnell ha ha . it was the university of pittsburgh cancer institute that put this article out.

I am part of a phase 3 study comparing the standard cisplatin and radiation treatment with cisplatin, centuximab and radiation. The study is sponsored by The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG).

There are a number of studies in progress that use centuximab with various other drugs to augment radiation for head and neck as well as other cancers. For example: http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/RTOG+Study:+Adding+Cetuximab+to+Chemotherapy+and+Radiotherapy+Leads+to+Improved+Outcome+for+Lung+Cancer+Patients/3702674.html

The study I'm part of is RTOG0522.
http://www.rtog.org/summaries/headneck.html
The study is now closed but reports are not in yet.

At the end of June I'll be one year post treatment and there is no sign of cancer. I was in the arm of the study that got the centuximab (Erbitux). I do have more lingering side effects than many people report on this forum. My mouth and tongue are still very sensitive and I don't have much saliva so eating isn't much fun yet. I can and do eat many things and I am healing slowly. Most important, I don't have cancer.

I believe that this is the study that Chef Grant and my brother were in at the University of Chicago. I don't have his treatment plan in front of me, but this sounds familiar.

Chef Grant's tumor disappeared within a month (I think - you can check it elsehwere on this site). My brother Joe's tumor was gone within a couple of weeks. In both cases, they continued with the treatment.

Jean

Mshoe, my tongue feels like that too and after a few minutes , get so dry it hurts and my tongue sticks to my lips , roof of my mouth or anywhere else it touches. That plus the sour taste I get. It seems it's a never ending happening.

i am getting cetuximab and carboplatin and paclitaxel once a week for six weeks. Ive had two treatments so far. I've got the rash and pimples on face head neck and chest its a little itchy and ugly but not bad. I'm getting 6 weeks then a 2 week rest then 8 weeks of radiation with chemo then 4 week rest then surgery. I believe it is because my tumor on the tonsil started to spread into base of tongue and is 3 or 4 cm plus I have a huge lemon sized 9cm lymphnode.

So this method of induction or neo adjuvent (I believe its called) has a 2 fold purpose one to hopefully reduced my tumor size and lymphnode size and, and 2, to stop the cancer thats there from spreading, and I think maybe 3, to kill any microscopic cancer that has spread.

At least this is what my too busy uncaring doctors who have seen me for a total of 30 minutes in almost 3 months told me. I go into the doctors office with my cetuximab rash and can't even get the nurse practioner to look at it. She just sends a nurse out with a prescription for antibiotic cream.

I don't know what I would do without this website and others like it and the time put in by all the people here. Thank you. I've got 2 weeks experience now being treated - I am so happy I can add something.

Thank you Victor brown

You hang in there Victor. We will be here every step of the way. I didn't have any rash but I'm sure others will post what made a difference to them.

Victor- My husband found head and shoulders shampp helpful for the dry hair and rash on his scalp. Nothing seemd to help the pimples though. Sorry.

Sue

Anybody heard anything about how this treatment (Erbitux + platinum based chemo+ IMRT) relates to HPV+ cases? I just ask because the "usual" (platinum based chemo + IMRT) is touted as so effective. Would love for all of us to have one more ray of hope.
L!
T!

By adding one more component to the "cocktail" which slows the malignant cells ability to reproduce (the monoclonal antibody Erbitux). the opportunity to is to have the other two proven killers of malignant cells not have to be used as long or with as high a dose to effect the same result. Ideally this would be more effective, and lessen the morbidity of the treatments themselves.

Victor:

I went through this therapy, completed March. I had 9 weeks of Chemo, the "Ball-Pump" which I wore for 3 days and 37 radiation treatments. I had a 5cm tumor on my neck that dissolved. As a matter of fact, I had to be fitted with a new mask for radiation because the tumor was gone. Before each radiation treatment I received a shot of Ethihal (sp?) to save my salavary glands. I also reveived hydration twice a week which was key to me not getting sick from the Ethihal or radiation. Ask your doctor for hydration it will give you the strenghth to carry on. Not to mention some good anti anxity medication like Advatan.

Just for clarity--and also so the above post would show up in a search, the correct spellings of the medications mentioned above are ethyol and ativan.