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1: Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2008 Nov;62(6):1111-2. Epub 2008 Feb 19.Click here to read Links

Tumor resensitization to erlotinib following brief substitution of cetuximab.

Epstein RJ, Leung TW.

Division of Haematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, Room 802, Administration Block, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China. repstein@hku.hk

Targeted inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) is becoming a standard anticancer treatment in defined clinical scenarios. EGFR inhibition may be achieved either by small-molecule orally bioavailable tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as gefitinib or erlotinib, or else by large-molecule receptor antibodies, such as cetuximab or panitumumab. Here, we describe a case of pancreatic cancer in which the small-molecule EGFR antagonist erlotinib was used before and after the EGFR antibody cetuximab, with unexpected potentiation of both toxic and therapeutic sequelae.

PMID: 18283460 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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  • Gefitinib (Iressa® )

    Gefitinib is used to treat non-small cell lung cancer in people who have already been treated with certain other chemotherapy medications and have not improved or whose condition has worsened. Gefitinib has not been show...

  • Erlotinib (Tarceva® )

    Erlotinib is used to treat non-small cell lung cancer in patients who have already been treated with at least one other chemotherapy medication and have not gotten better. Erlotinib is also used in combination with anoth...

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