Tumor resensitization to erlotinib following brief substitution of cetuximab.

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 - as supplied by publisher]