
Standard chemotherapy remains the most effective way to treat a particular form of throat cancer, according to new research.
Scientists from the University of Birmingham compared the effectiveness of 2 drugs in patients diagnosed with throat cancer caused by an infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), called HPV-positive throat cancer. They also compared the severity of side effects caused by the drugs.
The study, published in The Lancet, found that patients taking either the standard chemotherapy drug cisplatin or another targeted cancer drug called cetuximab (Erbitux) experienced little difference in side effects.
But survival was significantly better in those who received the standard of care drug cisplatin. Their cancers were also less likely to return.
Dr Emma King, a Cancer Research UK expert in head and neck surgery from the University of Southampton, said studies like this are essential in making sure patients get the best treatment.
“We now know that for HPV-positive throat cancer, the standard chemotherapy treatment remains the most effective option.”
Source: Cancer Research UK







