Dramatic response of refractory metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the skin with cetuximab/pembrolizumab.
Candice HoberPhilippe JammeEve DesmedtAnna GreliakLaurent MortierPublished in: Therapeutic advances in medical oncology (2021)
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) accounts for 20% of skin cancers. At an advanced stage the prognosis is poor, making cSCC the second leading cause of death from skin cancer. In cases of metastatic or unresectable disease, anti-programmed cell death 1 (anti-PD1) treatment has shown promising results in a recent phase II study. Although anti-PD1 treatment now offers higher response rates, the responses remain inconsistent and may lead to therapeutic impasses. Preclinical data have suggested synergy between anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) and immunotherapy. We report the case of a patient with metastatic cSCC that proved refractory first to anti-EGFR/carboplatin and then to immunotherapy, but who showed a complete and durable response with cetuximab/pembrolizumab combination. This response could reflect synergy of the two treatments.
Keyphrases
- squamous cell carcinoma
- epidermal growth factor receptor
- locally advanced
- small cell lung cancer
- phase ii study
- advanced non small cell lung cancer
- tyrosine kinase
- clinical trial
- stem cells
- lymph node metastasis
- skin cancer
- wound healing
- randomized controlled trial
- bone marrow
- mesenchymal stem cells
- artificial intelligence
- combination therapy
- machine learning
- smoking cessation
- placebo controlled