ReportDescription and management of cutaneous side effects during cetuximab or erlotinib treatments: A prospective study of 30 patients
Section snippets
Methods
Between March 2004 and July 2005, 30 patients (20 men and 10 women) with a mean age of 64.7 years (range: 37-85 years) who were under treatment with EGFR inhibitors were studied by means of dermatologic evaluation and photography monthly. We included all patients in treatment with cetuximab in our hospital (17) and only the patients who presented cutaneous adverse effects in treatment with erlotinib (13 of 28). All patients were in stage 4 of their disease (colorectal or lung cancer). Patients'
Results
In the group treated with cetuximab, 14 of 17 patients developed an acneiform eruption that was characterized by pruritic follicular pustular and papular erythematous lesions. No comedos or cysts were present. This eruption was predominantly distributed in the seborrheic areas, mainly on the face (nose, cheeks, nasolabial folds, chin, forehead, and perioral distribution) (Fig 1). Other main locations included shoulders and trunk, particularly the V-shaped area of the chest (Fig 2) and upper
Discussion
Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody to the EGFR approved for irinotecan-resistant metastatic colorectal cancer, and erlotinib is approved in the United States for chemotherapy-resistant non-small cell lung cancer. In addition, these and other EGFR-targeting therapies are under investigation for broader indications and for use in other cancers, notably those of the head and neck, pancreas, lung, and ovaries. These drugs block the EGFR and, therefore, inhibit the proliferation of a variety of
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Funding sources: None.
Conflicts of interest: None identified.