Cetuximab treatment for cutaneous SCC provided durable response in select patients

SAN DIEGO — Although most patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who were treated with cetuximab progressed, those who did not progress achieved a durable treatment response, according to research presented here.

Jacqueline Goulart Berliner, MD, and Sarah Tuttleton Arron, MD, PhD, performed a retrospective chart review, using billing codes to identify patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) from cancer-related departments at the University of California, San Francisco. Overall, 18 patients with advanced cSCC were included. Results of the study were presented in a poster during the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery annual meeting.

Among the patients with available follow-up data, 75% progressed, and of those, 58.3% were deceased.

Just over 44% of the patients were treated concurrently with cetuximab and radiation. Among the patients who received concurrent cetuximab and radiation, 42.9% of the patients progressed compared with 100% of the patients who did not receive concurrent treatment, according to the researchers.

The average timespan from diagnosis to the initiation of cetuximab treatment was 42.1 months, and the average time from cetuximab treatment to progression was 7.5 months, according to the researchers. The average timespan from progression to death was 20.6 months.

In patients who did not progress, average progression-free survival after initiating cetuximab was 24 months.

Additionally, none of the patients are deceased.

Reference:

Berliner JG. Response of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma to treatment with cetuximab. Presented at: American Society for Dermatologic Surgery annual meeting. Nov. 6-9, 2014; San Diego.

Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.