Back in 2004 Cetuximab was approved for marketing by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of some head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and colorectal cancers, and is now approved for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer in China as well.
While not granted an indication for the treatment of breast cancer, cetuximab has shown some efficacy in triple-negative breast cancer in some cutting-edge clinical studies.
Understanding cetuximab
Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that binds to EGFR expressed on the surface of normal cells and many cancer cells, inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis.
Treatment of triple-negative breast cancer
In a cutting-edge exploration, 18 patients with triple-negative breast cancer were treated with cetuximab in combination with paclitaxel, with an overall efficiency of nearly 30% and with 1 patient with a positive EGFR mutation achieving complete remission.
For advanced triple-negative breast cancer, investigators have made additional attempts. For example, 102 patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer, treated with cetuximab or cetuximab combined with carboplatin, had a clinical benefit rate of 31% with the combination, higher than the 10% with cetuximab alone.
Also, studies have found that cetuximab combined with cisplatin prolongs the median progression-free survival by 2.2 months in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer compared with cisplatin monotherapy ( 3.7 months and 1.5 months, respectively).
These studies suggest that cetuximab in combination with platinum-based drugs is effective in the treatment of advanced triple-negative breast cancer, but large-scale clinical use needs to be rigorously validated.
Studies exploring cetuximab in combination with Ixabepilone for triple-negative breast cancer are also ongoing, and studies are comparing the efficacy of two-agent chemotherapy with chemotherapy in combination with cetuximab in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Summary
Cetuximab in combination with chemotherapy has some therapeutic potential for advanced triple-negative breast cancer:
- Cetuximab in combination with carboplatin has a clinical benefit rate of nearly 30%;
- Cetuximab in combination with cisplatin significantly prolonged progression-free survival by 2.2 months compared with cisplatin alone.
Cetuximab has not yet been given an indication for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, and its efficacy has yet to be validated in large studies.