Pirfenidone as a Radiosensitizer in the Treatment of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2025-06-30
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with
a 5-year survival rate of less than 50%. Radiotherapy is an important measure to control
tumor recurrence. Although radiotherapy has been widely used in patients with head and neck
squamous cell carcinoma, the 2-year local recurrence rate of patients with locally advanced
disease is still as high as 50%-60%, and the distant metastasis rate is as high as 20%-30%.
This is associated with a lower radiosensitivity in HNSCC. Our previous study has confirmed
that type I collagen secreted by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) can enhance the
radioresistance of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We also confirmed that pirfenidone
could reduce type I collagen expression in CAFs and enhance radiosensitivity in vitro and in
vivo. Therefore, we plan to translate the basic research into clinical practice and conduct a
prospective interventional phase II clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of
pirfenidone as a radiosensitizer in HNSCC.