A trial looking at E7050 for head and neck cancer

This trial is looking at drugs called E7050 and cetuximab (Erbitux) to treat certain cancers of the head and neck. This trial is open to people who have cancer of the mouth and oropharynx, cancer of the larynx or cancer of the nose and sinuses and is of the type called squamous cell cancer.

Doctors treat these cancers with a platinum chemotherapy drug such as carboplatin or cisplatin. If the cancer continues to grow or comes back after treatment they then may use a biological therapy drug called cetuximab. Cetuximab works well but doctors are always looking for ways to improve treatment.

E7050 is a new biological therapy drug. It works by blocking a protein on the cancer cell that is involved in making blood vessels. Some cancer cells make too much of this protein. By blocking this protein, we can stop the cancer from growing the blood vessels it needs in order to continue to get bigger.

We know that the combination of E7050 and cetuximab can stop the growth of head and neck cancer cells in laboratory studies. The researchers now want to find out if this combination can help people with cancer of the head and neck.

The aims of this trial are to find out

• The best dose of E7050 to give

• How well the combination of E7050 and cetuximab works

• What the side effects are