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. 2010 Jul;17 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S3-17.
doi: 10.3747/co.v17is1.616.

Efficacy of the monoclonal antibody EGFR inhibitors for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer

M Fakih  1 , R Wong
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Efficacy of the monoclonal antibody EGFR inhibitors for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer

M Fakih et al. Curr Oncol. 2010 Jul.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Two anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) have been approved in Canada for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) - cetuximab, a mouse-human chimeric MoAb, and panitumumab, a fully human MoAb. This paper reviews the efficacy of the anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies cetuximab and panitumumab - both as monotherapy and in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy - in the treatment of mCRC. Both cetuximab and panitumumab have demonstrated clinical efficacy in monotherapy in patients with mCRC, an advantage that has recently been found to be limited largely to those with wild-type KRAS tumors. Advantages of using these agents in monotherapy include reduced cost and toxicity. While the addition of cetuximab to irinotecan has shown superior progression-free survival and response compared with cetuximab monotherapy, there is currently no evidence for a benefit of panitumumab in combination with irinotecan.

Keywords: BRAF; EGFR; KRAS; cetuximab; colorectal carcinoma; panitumumab.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time to disease progression in patients treated with cetuximab alone or cetuximab plus irinotecan in the BOND trial
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overall survival in patients treated with cetuximab alone or cetuximab plus irinotecan in the BOND trial
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between progression-free survival and severity of rash in patients with colorectal cancer treated with cetuximab
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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