# Bonner trial (cetuximab plus radiotherapy)

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/bonner-cetuximab-rt/  
OnCo record `bonner-cetuximab-rt` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The Bonner trial was the first to show that a targeted antibody improves survival when added to radiotherapy: cetuximab with radiotherapy lengthened survival in head and neck cancer, and became the option for patients who cannot have cisplatin.

## Summary

Bonner and colleagues randomised 424 patients with stage III or IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx to high-dose radiotherapy alone or with weekly cetuximab. Median overall survival was 49.0 months with cetuximab versus 29.3 months (hazard ratio 0.74), and locoregional control improved, with an acneiform rash but no increase in mucositis (New England Journal of Medicine 2006). Later trials (RTOG 1016, De-ESCALaTE) showed cetuximab is inferior to cisplatin in HPV-positive disease, so its role is in cisplatin-unfit patients.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: positive
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Tags: radiation-wave4
- Registry id: NCT00004227
- Phase: 3
- Setting: Locoregionally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: radiotherapy with or without cetuximab
- Sponsor: ImClone Systems
- Enrolled: 424
- Result: Median overall survival 49.0 vs 29.3 months (hazard ratio 0.74).
- Outcomes: Locoregional control (primary) and overall survival: Radiotherapy plus cetuximab 49 months vs Radiotherapy alone 29.3 months

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00004227: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00004227
- NEJM 2006: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa053422

## Connected records

- cancers: [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/), [Oropharyngeal cancer (tonsil and base of tongue)](https://onco.cc/cancers/oropharyngeal-cancer/)
- technologies: [IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)](https://onco.cc/technologies/imrt-igrt/), [Radiosensitisers](https://onco.cc/technologies/radiosensitisers/)
- drugs: [Cetuximab](https://onco.cc/drugs/cetuximab/)

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