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Abstract Patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA‐HNSCC) have poor survival outcomes. The real‐world efficacy of nimotuzumab plus intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)‐based chemoradiotherapy in patients with LA‐HNSCC remains unclear. A total of 25,442 HNSCC patients were screened, and 612 patients were matched by propensity score matching (PSM) (1:1). PSM was utilized to balance known confounding factors. Patients who completed at least five doses of nimotuzumab were identified as study group. The primary end point was 3‐year overall survival (OS) rate. Log‐rank test examined the difference between two survival curves and Cloglog transformation test was performed to compare survival at a fixed time point. The median follow‐up time was 54.2 (95% confidence interval CI: 52.7–55.9) months. The study group was associated with improved OS (hazard ratio HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57–0.99, p = 0.038) and progression‐free survival (PFS) (HR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.58–0.96, p = 0.021). Subgroup analysis revealed that aged 50–60 year, IV, N2, radiotherapy dose ≥ 60 Gy, without previous surgery, and neoadjuvant therapy have a trend of survival benefit with nimotuzumab. Nimotuzumab showed favorable safety, only 0.2% had nimotuzumab‐related severe adverse events. Our study indicated the nimotuzumab plus chemoradiotherapy provides survival benefits and safety for LA‐HNSCC patients in an IMRT era.
Zhang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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