Successful treatment with the fully human antibody panitumumab after a severe infusion reaction with cetuximab.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND

There are only limited data on the safety and efficacy of panitumumab in patients who experienced severe infusion reactions during cetuximab antibody therapy.

CASE REPORT

We report the case of a 69-year-old woman with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer who received single-agent cetuximab treatment but experienced a severe reaction during the first infusion, despite premedication with corticosteroids/antihistamines. Cetuximab was discontinued and treatment with panitumumab initiated approximately 14 days later (without premedication); no infusion reactions occurred and there was a rapid improvement in her general condition. She experienced a partial response that was sustained for 7 months before progression.

CONCLUSIONS

This case supports the use of panitumumab in patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer and suggests that panitumumab may be used in some patients with prior infusion reactions to cetuximab.