Cetuximab: Its role in patients unfit for cisplatin

Head and neck cancer (HNC) represents a heterogeneous malignant disease, that affects oral cavity, pharynx and larynx. There were an estimated 878,348 new cases of HNC (excluding salivary glands and nonmelanoma skin cell carcinoma) and 444,347 HNC deaths (excluding salivary glands and nonmelanoma skin cell carcinoma) worldwide in 2020 [1]. In order to guarantee the optimal treatment and the more appropriate supportive care, management of HNC patients requires a multidisciplinary medical decision process, including both physicians and health care professionals [2,3]. Depending on primary tumor loca tion and clinical stage at diagnosis, treatment options may include sur gery, radiotherapy, systemic therapy, or a combination of these therapeutic regimens. Conservative surgery or radiotherapy alone are the standard options in early stage disease; whereas definitive concomitant chemoradiotherapy or surgery plus adjuvant (chemo) radiotherapy are indicated in locally advanced disease