OBJECTIVES : To describe characteristics and treatment patterns amongst SCCHN patients receiving 1L treatment post recurrence/metastasis.

METHODS : A real-world cross-sectional survey was conducted in Canada, Italy, and Spain from October 2018 to February 2019. Inclusion criteria involved Oncologists, qualified for 5-35 years, who made treatment decisions for at least 10 SCCHN patients per month. Each physician provided information on their next eight consecutive patients receiving treatment for R/M SCCHN. Interim data from January 2019 are presented.

RESULTS : Physicians (N=95) provided data on 711 patients; 544 were receiving 1L R/M treatment. The average age of 1L R/M patients was 64, most were male (73%), retired (49%), HPV negative (61%) and had ECOG scores 0/1 (80%) or 2 (18%). At diagnosis, patients were typically stage IVC (28%) or IVA (20%), though at the time of data collection most were stage IVC (44%) or IVB (24%). Most common primary SCCHN sites were oropharynx (28%) and larynx (22%) and symptoms included enlarged lymph nodes (38%), fatigue (33%) and dysphagia (30%). Fluorouracil, cetuximab and cisplatin were the most frequently prescribed 1L R/M treatments, with or without combination, although used less in Canada (21%, 39%, 39%) versus Italy (55%, 41%, 48%) and Spain (57%, 65%, 50%). Patients had been receiving those treatments 15 weeks on average, without concurrent radiotherapy (68%). Physicians reported current disease progression in 13% and changing the current treatment as the next step was more frequently reported for patients in Canada (60%) than Italy and Spain (41% and 29%, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS : Characteristics and treatment patterns of 1L R/M patients comprise disease progression and high usage of platinum-based therapy. Further research is needed to evaluate additional treatment regimens and patient subgroups in the 1L R/M setting.