rash – Oral Cancer News

Palifermin decreases severe oral mucositis after radiotherapy

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Will Boggs, MD Palifermin (Kepivance) helps reduce the rate, severity, and duration of severe oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients receiving chemoradiotherapy, two new studies show. "Combined data from both studies consistently indicated that palifermin has activities against radiochemotherapy-induced mucositis," said Dr. Quynh-Thu Le, who led one of the studies, in email to Reuters Health. "However, the lack of improvement in some of the secondary end points suggests that the doses and schedules tested were inadequate to overcome the severe mucositis brought on by concurrent radiochemotherapy." The recombinant keratinocyte growth factor palifermin is FDA-approved to treat severe oral mucositis in patients with hematologic malignancies receiving myelotoxic therapy requiring hematopoietic stem cell support. But Dr. Le said that unlike the mucositis related to chemotherapy for bone marrow transplant, mucositis from chemoradiotherapy is more severe and persistent and "may require more drug administered at a higher frequency." Dr. Le, from Stanford University, California, and colleagues tested palifermin, 180 mcg/kg IV once weekly, in 188 patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer receiving definitive chemoradiotherapy. The incidence of severe oral mucositis (grade 3 or 4) was significantly lower with palifermin versus placebo (54% versus 69%; p = 0.041). In addition, the median duration of severe oral mucositis was shorter in the palifermin group (5 versus 26 days), according to a report published online June 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. But mouth and throat soreness (MTS) scores averaged only slightly lower in the palifermin arm, and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-06-14T10:16:17-07:00June, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Rash prediction in lung cancer?

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Maurie Markman, MD Hello. I am Dr. Maurie Markman from Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia. I wanted to briefly discuss with you a very interesting paper[1] that appeared online in The Lancet Oncology on December 20th, 2010, and will be in print soon. The paper was entitled "First-Cycle Rash and Survival in Patients With Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Receiving Cetuximab in Combination With First-Line Chemotherapy: A Subgroup Analysis of Data From the FLEX Phase 3 Study." This was a very interesting subgroup analysis -- a retrospective analysis. What the group of investigators attempted to look at was the impact on a patient who received cetuximab and developed a rash compared with individuals who received cetuximab and did not develop a rash. And, of course, the other control group here would be the patients who received chemotherapy without cetuximab. What this retrospective analysis demonstrated was that overall survival in patients who received combination chemotherapy plus cetuximab and who developed a rash was significantly longer in all of the subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer that were looked at (including squamous and adenocarcinoma), compared with chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy plus cetuximab and no development of a rash. These data, which are quite provocative and need to be confirmed by others, suggest that the development of a rash may be a reasonable clinical biomarker of the potential impact of this targeted agent on cancer. That is, the development of a rash suggests that there is going to be [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-26T08:09:24-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Presence of rash associated with improved survival in patients receiving adjuvant Erbitux® for locally advanced head and neck cancer

Source: professional.cancerconsultants.com Author: staff A multicenter randomized trial has shown that patients with locoregionally advanced head and neck cancer receiving adjuvant Erbitux® (cetuximab) and radiotherapy who develop a rash have a better survival than patients receiving this therapy who don’t develop a rash. The details of this five-year follow-up of a Phase III randomized study were published early online in the Lancet Oncology on November 7, 2009.[1] Standard treatment for head and neck cancer is largely determined by the stage and by the specific locations within the head or neck area where the cancer has spread. The patient’s overall medical condition is also a deciding factor. Treatment typically consists of radiation therapy, chemotherapy with surgery, or surgery alone. Erbitux is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the epithelial growth factory receptor (EGFR) and inhibits the receptor’s effects on cellular replication. Erbitux is currently FDA-approved for treatment of head and neck cancer. Researchers involved in an international study have previously reported that the addition of Erbitux to radiation therapy improves survival over radiation therapy alone in the treatment of head and neck cancer. The results of this randomized trial with a 54-month follow-up were published in the February 9, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. This trial included 424 patients; approximately half were treated with Erbitux plus high-dose radiation therapy, and the other half received high-dose radiation therapy alone. This study now has a follow-up of more than five years. The Following table summarizes some of the findings [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-17T19:52:44-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Tips on managing the rash associated with EGFR inhibitors

Source: OncologySTAT (www.oncologystat.com) Author: OncologySTAT Editorial Team Nurses at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC, have developed a treatment algorithm for the rash that frequently occurs with use of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors. “We want to help sustain patients so they can continue to get their therapy and maintain their quality of life,” Kimberly Bishop, RN, BSN, OCN, said at the Oncology Nursing Society 34th Annual Congress. For mild rash that doesn’t affect activities of daily living or quality of life, the algorithm recommends a topical cream—hydrocortisone and/or clindamycin or metronidazole. “At our institution, we use MetroCream [metronidazole cream] as our primary topical agent,” Ms. Bishop said. For moderate rash, an oral antibiotic is added, most commonly doxycycline 100 mg twice daily. “We reassess [patients] every 2 weeks to see what the rash looks like, and encourage patients to call to let us know if there is a change in the rash,” she said. Ms. Bishop described the rash as very red, often starting as a macular reaction and progressing to a pustular abscess-like rash that becomes ulcerated. “The rash itself is not infectious but can lead to a secondary superinfection from scratching. That’s why antibiotic therapy is important,” she said. For severe rash, the recommendation is to hold the EGFR inhibitor therapy and reassess within 1 to 2 weeks, continue with the antibiotic, and also add a Medrol Dosepak (oral methylprednisolone packaged to provide a tapering dose). Ms. Bishop warned that “any time you put steroid cream [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-28T03:53:00-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|