Efficacy of Cetuximab in Metastatic Colon Cancer - Case Report
V.T. Grigorean, A.N. Ciuhu, G. Rahnea Nita, V. Strambu, D.N. Straja, M. Popescu, A.M. Sandu, R.A. Rahnea NitaClinical case, no. 3, 2014
In recent years, targeted therapies have proved effective in thetreatment of colon cancer, but even in these conditions,metastatic disease is generally considered incurable.Cetuximab is approved for the treatment of advancedcolorectal cancer patients with KRAS wild-type, in order toincrease survival and hinder progression of the disease. Wereport a case of a 55 year-old woman, diagnosed withstenosing sigmoid cancer and liver metastases, which underwent multimodal treatment: palliative surgery -Hartmann segmental colectomy, and adjuvant chemotherapy -second line monotherapy with cetuximab, according tostandard protocols. After 6 months of XELOX chemotherapy,during which she showed progression of metastatic disease, shewas switched to monotherapy with cetuximab, with favorableoutcome. Comparing relevant literature, in which completeresponse to treatment with cetuximab is obtained in lowpercentages ( 3%) after 3 months of treatment withcetuximab the patient shows clinical and paraclinical completeresponse and increased quality of life. Proper selection ofpatients with metastatic colon cancer for treatment with anti-EGFR therapy may lead to prolonged survival and time toprogression.
