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Erivedge for basal cell carcinoma not associated with increased risk of subsequent SCC

There was no increased risk for subsequent squamous cell carcinoma associated with Erivedge treatment compared with standard treatment for patients with basal cell carcinoma, according to recently published study results in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study of 1,675 patients (mean age at basal cell carcinoma [BCC] treatment, 66 years; 66.6% men). The cohorts included 556 patients who were treated with Erivedge (vismodegib, Genentech) in clinical studies and 1,119 patients in the University of California, San Francisco Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Cohort who were treated with standard treatment for primary BCC, including destruction, excision or Mohs surgery.

Among the patients, 5% treated with vismodegib and 4% treated with standard therapy developed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) at the end of 1 year after treatment initiation. There was no increased risk for subsequent development of SCC with the use of vismodegib (adjusted HR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.28-1.16), according to multivariate proportional hazards analysis.

Age, sex, history of nonmelanoma skin cancer and number of visits per year were significantly associated with SCC development.

“On the basis of our findings, vismodegib was not associated with an increased risk of subsequent SCC when compared with standard surgical treatment of BCC,” the researchers concluded. “However, further large-scale, placebo-controlled trials are needed to definitely assess this risk.” – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosure: Bhutani reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a listing of the other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.