Joseph Ciccolini, PhD, assistant professor in Pharmocokinetics, Aix-Marseille University, discusses dose levels of cetuximab (Erbitux) in patients with head and neck cancer.

The dose of cetuximab must be precise otherwise it will be difficult for a patient with head and neck cancer to see results, explains Ciccolini.

It needs to be ensured that the drug is at a certain level to exert constant pressure on the target. This makes dose de-escalation difficult with this drug, but it was the best way to see responses, states Ciccolini.

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Dr. Ciccolini on Dose Levels of Cetuximab in Head and Neck Cancer

Joseph Ciccolini, PhD, assistant professor in Pharmocokinetics, Aix-Marseille University, discusses investigating the residual concentrations of other agents for the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

Aside from cetuximab (Erbitux), researchers are working on this novel method with bevacizumab (Avastin). However, the clinical outcomes with this agent are not yet available.

Furthermore, he adds, agents including nivolumab (Opdivo), pembrolizumab (Keytruda), and ipilimumab (Yervoy) are being investigated for residual concentrations. This is because these drugs are effective, but they could be improved and show activity in more patients with different doses or scheduling, Ciccolini explains.

Exploring Residual Concentrations of Agents in Head and Neck Cancer

Joseph Ciccolini, PhD, assistant professor in Pharmocokinetics, Aix-Marseille University, discusses residual concentrations of cetuximab (Erbitux) in patients with head and neck cancer.

There have been tools to improve the way existing treatments work for patients with head and neck cancer, explains Ciccolini. To achieve this, changes were made with the doses or the scheduling of the sequences to improve the efficacy or limit the toxicity.

When this was done with cetuximab, approximately 50% of patients did not see improvements, simply because the drug exposure was not sufficient enough for treatment.

Joseph Ciccolini, PhD

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Dr. Ciccolini on Dose Levels of Cetuximab in Head and Neck Cancer

Exploring Residual Concentrations of Agents in Head and Neck Cancer

Dr. Ciccolini on Residual Concentrations of Cetuximab in Head and Neck Cancer