Global treatment patterns and outcomes among patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Results of the GLANCE H&N study

•Treatment of recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer varied in clinical practice.•Platinum-based regimens were the most common first-line systemic therapy.•Use of cetuximab plus platinum was limited despite guideline preferred designation.•Median survival was 8 months, highlighting the need for more efficacious treatments. Given a lack of universally-accepted standard-of-care treatment for patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC), study objectives were to assess treatment utilization and survival outcomes for R/M HNSCC in the real-world setting. A multi-site retrospective chart review was conducted in Europe (Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain), Asia Pacific (Australia, South Korea, Taiwan), and Latin/North America (Brazil and Canada) to identify patients who initiated first-line systemic therapy for R/M HNSCC between January 2011 and December 2013. Patients were followed through December 2015 to collect clinical characteristics, treatment and survival data. Among 733 R/M HNSCC patients across 71 sites, median age was 60 years (inter-quartile range 54–67), 84% male, and 70% Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0–1; 32% had oral cavity and 30% oropharyngeal cancers. The most common first-line regimen across all countries consisted of platinum-based combinations (73%), including platinum + 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (26%), cetuximab + platinum ± 5-FU (22%), or taxane + platinum ± 5-FU (16%). However, use of different platinum-based combinations varied substantially; administration of cetuximab + platinum ± 5-FU was frequent in Italy (81%), Germany (46%) and Spain (38%), whereas use in other countries was limited. Median follow-up was 22.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 21.5–24.6 months). Median real-world overall survival was only 8.0 months (95% CI: 7.0–8.0), with one-year survival reaching only 30.9% (95% CI: 27.5–34.3). Systemic therapies used in clinical practice for patients with R/M HNSCC vary substantially across countries. Prognosis remains poor in this patient population, highlighting the need for newer, more efficacious treatments.