According to a recent study published in the British Journal of Dermatology, researchers have found that neoadjuvant cetuximab in combination with a platinum salt and fluorouracil show good response in elderly patients with unresectable locally advanced non-melanoma skin cancer.
For the study, researchers enrolled 34 patients with a diagnosis of unresectable locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma with a median age of 74.5 years between 2008 and 2013. Of those, 25 patients received neoadjuvant cetuximab plus a platinum salt and fluorouracil.
Researchers found that after 3 cycles of the drug combination, 92% of patients whose tumors were initially unresectable were now able to undergo surgery to remove the tumors.
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Results showed a complete histological response in 65.3% of patients. The median overall survival in patients who underwent surgery was 26 months and the median progression-free survival was 8.5 months.
The findings suggest that neoadjuvant cetuximab plus a platinum salt and fluorouracil may be effective for tumor control and tumor resection in these elderly patients, but the authors note that this regimen must be further investigated in a prospective randomized trial.
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