Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032-3784, USA.
J Oncol. 2011;2011:125467. doi: 10.1155/2011/125467. Epub 2011 Jun 13.
Anal cancer patients who have exhibited disease progression after having received all approved drugs pose a major therapeutic challenge. In addition to cytotoxic agents, novel targeted agents are being developed and have an established role in the treatment of many solid tumors, including colon cancer. However, their role in anal cancer is yet to be determined. Most anal malignancies are squamous cell carcinomas often strongly expressing epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs). Targeting the latter seems to result in favorable changes in tumor growth. We present three cases of refractory anal cancers, treated with EGFR inhibitors, after having received the recommended chemotherapy regimens. We conclude that EGFR inhibitors may play a vital role in the treatment of anal cancer and we suggest that large trials are be conducted in order to clarify their efficacy and to improve therapeutic management.
接受所有已批准药物后仍出现疾病进展的肛门癌患者带来了重大的治疗挑战。除细胞毒性药物外,新型靶向药物也在不断开发,并在包括结肠癌在内的许多实体瘤的治疗中发挥着重要作用。然而,它们在肛门癌中的作用尚待确定。大多数肛门恶性肿瘤为鳞状细胞癌,通常强烈表达表皮生长因子受体 (EGFRs)。针对后者似乎会导致肿瘤生长发生有利的变化。我们报告了三例接受推荐化疗方案后使用 EGFR 抑制剂治疗的难治性肛门癌病例。我们的结论是,EGFR 抑制剂可能在肛门癌的治疗中发挥重要作用,我们建议进行大规模试验以明确其疗效并改善治疗管理。