Platinum-resistant oral cancer has a dismal outcome with limited treatment options. Prof. Dr K Prabhash and his team recently concluded a study that gave a promising result.the study was published in JCO.

The study was concluded that Triple oral metronomic chemotherapy with erlotinib, methotrexate, and celecoxib is efficacious in platinum-refractory oral cavity cancers and represents a new therapeutic option in patients with poor prognosis.

The study wa conducted on patients with platinum-resistant or early-failure squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. They were orally administered erlotinib 150 mg once per day, celecoxib 200 mg twice per day, and methotrexate per week. The primary end point of phase I was to determine the OBD of methotrexate, and that of phase II was to determine the 3-month progression-free survival. 

Dr K Prabhash's commentary

"We refined oral metronomic (low dose) chemotherapy for advanced oral cancers. In this project by noting the tumor shrinkage and reduction in cancer angiogenesis marker (circulating endothelial cells); we derived the most effective metronomic dose of methotrexate. This dose of methotrexate in combination with celecoxib and erlotinib was than administered to patients with advanced oral cancers which were no longer sensitive to standard chemotherapy. This combination controlled the tumor better than the current treatment had minimal side effects and the cost was one 120th of the currently used treatment. "

To access the original article abstract click this link: https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.19.01076

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