Trial reportBMC cancer2020
Treatment response lowers tumor symptom burden in recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck cancer.
Trial report in BMC cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00122460 (Cetuximab in Combination With Cisplatin or Carboplatin and 5-Fluorouracil in the First Line Treatment of Subjects With Recurrent and/or Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Cetuximab in Combination With Cisplatin or Carboplatin and 5-Fluorouracil in the First Line Treatment of Subjects With Recurrent and/or Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Immunotherapy plus targeted therapy for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: an updated meta-analysis and subgroup analysis by target mechanism.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Long-term Survival and Molecular Biomarker Evaluation of a Phase II Cetuximab and Nivolumab Clinical Trial in Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2026Trial
- Optimising (re-)irradiation for locally recurrent head and neck cancer: impact of dose-escalation, salvage surgery, PEG tube and biomarkers on oncological outcomes-a single centre analysis.Radiation oncology (London, England) · 2025Article
- Frailty and Increased Levels of Symptom Burden Can Predict the Presence of Each Other in HNSCC Patients.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Treatment Stratification in First-Line Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer, on Behalf of the EORTC Young Investigator Head and Neck Cancer Group.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- Review
- Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Upregulates Several Immune Checkpoint Molecules in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells Independently of the HPV Status While ICOS-L Is Upregulated Only on HPV-Positive Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Article
- Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHead and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) frequently causes severe symptoms that may be reduced, when the tumor is successfully treated. The SOCCER trial studied the association of treatment response with patient reported tumor symptom burden in first line treatment of recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC.
methodsIn this prospective, multi-center, non-interventional trial patients were treated either with platinum-based chemotherapy and cetuximab or radiotherapy and cetuximab. Tumor symptom burden was assessed every four weeks with a questionnaire containing ten visual analogue scales (VAS, range 0-100), which were summarized to the overall VAS score.
resultsFourhundred seventy patients were registered in 97 German centers. A total of 315 patients with at least the baseline and one subsequent questionnaire were available for analysis. Changes in the VAS score were rated as absolute differences from baseline. Negative values indicate improvement of symptoms. The overall VAS score improved significantly at the first post-baseline assessment in responders (- 2.13 vs. non-responders + 1.15, p = 0.048), and even more for the best post-baseline assessment (- 7.82 vs. non-responders - 1.97, p = 0.0005). The VAS for pain (- 16.37 vs. non-responders - 8.89, p = 0.001) and swallowing of solid food (- 16.67 vs. non-responders - 5.06, p = 0.002) improved significantly more in responders (best post-baseline assessment). In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, worse overall VAS scores were associated with worse overall survival (hazard ratio for death 1.12 per 10 points increment on the overall VAS scale, 95% CI 1.05-1.20, p = 0.0009).
conclusionIn unselected patients beyond randomized controlled trials, treatment response lowers tumor symptom burden in recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00122460 . Registered 22 Juli 2005.
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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.