Trial reportCancer2020
A randomized phase 2 network trial of tivantinib plus cetuximab versus cetuximab in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Trial report in Cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic literature review of the human papillomavirus prevalence in locally and regionally advanced and recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancers through the last decade: The "ALARM" study.Cancer medicine · 2024Pooled it
- INTERLINK-1: A Phase III, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study of Monalizumab plus Cetuximab in Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2025Trial
- Pembrolizumab plus cetuximab in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: an open-label, multi-arm, non-randomised, multicentre, phase 2 trial.The Lancet. Oncology · 2021Trial
- HGF/c-MET signaling induces glutamine metabolism in MET-amplified head and neck squamous cell carcinoma via MAPK/ERK-dependent induction of GLS-1.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2026Article
- Advanced Human Papillomavirus-Negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Unmet Need and Emerging Therapies.Molecular cancer therapeutics · 2024Review
- Evaluation of a Novel MET-Targeting Camelid-Derived Antibody in Head and Neck Cancer.Molecular pharmaceutics · 2024Article
- Clinical Practice Recommendations for the Use of Next-Generation Sequencing in Patients with Solid Cancer: A Joint Report from KSMO and KSP.Cancer research and treatment · 2024Review
- Clinical practice recommendations for the use of next-generation sequencing in patients with solid cancer: a joint report from KSMO and KSP.Journal of pathology and translational medicine · 2024Review
- Combination Therapy as a Promising Way to Fight Oral Cancer.Pharmaceutics · 2023Review
- Adaptive c-Met-PLXDC2 Signaling Axis Mediates Cancer Stem Cell Plasticity to Confer Radioresistance-associated Aggressiveness in Head and Neck Cancer.Cancer research communications · 2023Article
- Targeted therapy for head and neck cancer: signaling pathways and clinical studies.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2023Review
- Recent findings on the impact of ErbB receptors status on prognosis and therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Review
- Cetuximab-Based vs Carboplatin-Based Chemoradiotherapy for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2022Article
- Efficacy and safety of apatinib in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective multi-center study.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Review
- Mechanisms of Cisplatin Resistance in HPV Negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas.Cells · 2022Review
- Cav1/EREG/YAP Axis in the Treatment Resistance of Cav1-Expressing Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Cancers · 2021Article
- The Optimal Second-Line Systemic Treatment Model for Recurrent and/or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Article
- Selective Inhibitor of the c-Met Receptor Tyrosine Kinase in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: No Beneficial Effect With the Use of Tivantinib?Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Precision Medicine Gains Momentum: Novel 3D Models and Stem Cell-Based Approaches in Head and Neck Cancer.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 8 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMET signaling is a well described mechanism of resistance to anti-EGFR therapy, and MET overexpression is common in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). In the current trial, the authors compared the oral MET inhibitor tivantinib (ARQ197) in combination with cetuximab (the TC arm) versus a control arm that received cetuximab monotherapy (C) in patients with recurrent/metastatic HNSCC.
methodsIn total, 78 evaluable patients with cetuximab-naive, platinum-refractory HNSCC were enrolled, including 40 on the TC arm and 38 on the C arm (stratified by human papillomavirus [HPV] status). Patients received oral tivantinib 360 mg twice daily and intravenous cetuximab 500 mg/m
resultsThe response rate was 7.5% in the TC arm (N = 3; 1 complete response) and 7.9% in the C arm (N = 3; not significantly different [NS]). The median progression-free survival in both arms was 4 months (NS), and the median overall survival was 8 months (NS). Both treatments were well tolerated, with a trend toward increased hematologic toxicities in the TC arm (12.5% had grade 3 leukopenia). The response rate in 31 HPV-positive/p16-positive patients was 0% in both arms, whereas the response rate in HPV-negative patients was 12.7% (12.5% in the TC arm and 13% in the C arm). Fifteen patients received tivantinib monotherapy, and no responses were observed.
conclusionsCombined tivantinib plus cetuximab does not significantly improve the response rate or survival compared with cetuximab alone but does increase toxicity in an unselected HNSCC population. Cetuximab responses appear to be limited to patients who have HPV-negative HNSCC. MET-aberration-focused trials for HNSCC and the use of higher potency, selective MET inhibitors remain of interest.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.