BACKGROUND

Skin disorders are major adverse events associated with necitumumab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin (Neci + GC) administration. However, the prognostic effect of skin disorders in patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) administered Neci + GC is unclear.

OBJECTIVES

We examined this prognostic effect in patients with LSCC, and the usefulness of minocycline administration.

DESIGN

This was a sub-analysis of the retrospective multicenter NINJA study.

METHODS

We performed a landmark survival analysis according to the presence of skin disorders at Day 30 of treatment and examined the usefulness of minocycline for treating skin disorders.

RESULTS

Among the 93 patients, 62 (66.7%) had a skin disorder at Day 30. Nineteen, 30, and 13 patients experienced Grade 1, 2, and 3 skin disorders, respectively. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with skin disorders at Day 30 were longer than those of patients without skin disorders (median OS: 434 vs 278 days,  = 0.0201; median PFS: 148 vs 82 days,  = 0.0835). Multivariable analysis showed that a skin disorder at Day 30 was an independent prognostic factor for both OS ( = 0.0044) and PFS ( = 0.0514). Of the 62 patients with skin disorders at Day 30, 38 (61.3%) were taking minocycline, and their time to treatment failure (TTF) was better than that in patients not taking minocycline (median TTF: 148 vs 101 days,  = 0.0495).

CONCLUSION

A skin disorder within 30 days was a favorable prognostic factor for patients with LSCC administered Neci + GC. Additionally, minocycline administration may be beneficial in patients who develop skin disorders within 30 days.