Efficacy of cetuximab in the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (CSCC) are very common. Localized CSCC are cured by surgery and/or radiotherapy and have a better prognosis than locally inoperable advanced CSCC. Cetuximab has recently been proposed to treat locally advanced CSCC when surgery or radiotherapy cannot be offered.The authors report results of a pilot study conducted in inoperable CSCC patients treated with cetuximab alone or combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.This study was conducted in 20 CSCC patients. RECIST criteria were used to evaluate clinical and radiological responses.Five patients received cetuximab associated with radiotherapy (CR), nine with carboplatin (CC) and six as monotherapy (CM) over 1-month cycle treatment. Response to treatment was evaluated every two cycles. After 2 months of treatment, the authors observed nine partial responses, six stabilizations and four progressions. Disease control rate was of 78% (100% for CR, 87.5% for CC and 50% for CM) with a 47% response rate (80% for CR, 37.5% for CC and 33% for CM).The authors confirm the potential interest of cetuximab to treat unresectable advanced CSCC alone or combined with CC and CM. These results justify discussing a further randomized study combining radiotherapy and cetuximab.