Cetuximab as salvage monotherapy in chemotherapy‑refractory metastatic colorectal cancer: A single‑center report
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- Published online on: July 19, 2013 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2013.1477
- Pages: 1011-1014
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Abstract
In July 2008, cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), was approved in Japan for clinical use against chemotherapy‑refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). At Shiga University of Medical Science, between December 2007 and April 2012, a total of 24 EGFR‑positive mCRC cases were administered immunohistochemistry with cetuximab as salvage monotherapy. The safety, side‑effects and clinical efficacy of the treatment, including response rate, time to treatment failure, progression‑free and overall survival, K‑ras mutation status and impact on outcome, were investigated. The patient tumor growth control rate (TCR) was 38%, the mean time to progression (TTP) was 9.8 weeks [95% confidence interval (CI), 7.2‑12.4] and the mean overall survival (OS) was 49.4 weeks (95% CI, 30.1‑68.8). The most common adverse reactions reported were skin reactions, including acne (67%), hand‑foot syndrome (16.7%) and paronychia (16.7%), followed by hypocalcemia (50%), hypomagnesemia (16%), stomatitis (20%) and gastrointestinal disorders (12%). The results of the present single‑center study demonstrated that cetuximab monotherapy is beneficial for the treatment of chemotherapy‑refractory patients with mCRC and that it has an acceptable level of safety and manageable side‑effects.
