GlaxoSmithKline today announced the start of an international Phase III trial of its investigational cancer treatment Tykerb? (lapatinib) in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).
This announcement follows the International Meeting on Innovative Approaches in Head & Neck Oncology, Barcelona, Spain, 22nd-24th February supported by the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO), where GSK presented results from a Phase I study of lapatinib in SCCHN.
This large adjuvant trial will compare the effectiveness of oral lapatinib versus placebo given in high-risk patients following surgery. SCCHN is the sixth most common cancer worldwide: 600,000 people are diagnosed with SCCHN annually, 100,800 in Europe alone and 40,000 people die from the disease every year.