A sliver of hope for head and neck cancer
A small study, presented at ESMO Congress 2018 suggests that the orally administered fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitor rogaratinib could be beneficial for a subset of patients with head and neck cancer.
Dr. Markus Jörger, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, presenting the collective outcome of two combined phase I trials.
Rogaratinib has shown promising efficacy in patients with urothelial cancer who were selected for treatment based on elevated tumor FGFR1-3 mRNA expression. Head and neck cancer (H&N) is an area of unmet medical need. Activation of the FGFR pathway has been suggested to be involved in head and neck cancer formation. A limited number of H&N cancer patients have been included in two phase I studies conducted with rogaratinib at the recommended phase 2 dose (800mg bid). The results are encouraging and the substance is going to be tested on patients with non small cell lung cancer as well.
source: ESMO congress 2018, poster session