Lung Cancer / Mesothelioma
One of my earliest posts when I started OncTalk was on the use of oral inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), one of the growth signals that is often over-active in cancer cells, against advanced bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC), a unique subtype of lung cancer that tends to grow within the […]
1 CommentsAs I’ve described in a prior post, there is some evidence that patients who develop a rash on tarceva (erlotinib) have an improved survival compared to patients who experience no skin toxicity on tarceva. The key question is whether this is an issue of under-dosing some patients, or if it’s just a correlate of overall immune […]
5 CommentsThere’s a really helpful resource for patients, developed by several leading experts in EGFR-based therapy and specifically the very common skin toxicity associated with EGFR inhibitors like iressa, tarceva, erbitux, and some others. I’ve already described some early ideas about rash management (prior post) and a more recent medical education program video on the same […]
1 CommentsRashes from EGFR inhibitors: we like to see them, because we know that many trials have shown that skin toxicity on drugs like tarceva is associated with better survival (see prior post), but the fact is that sometimes a rash is more than an inconvenience and can really make people miserable, or at least […]
14 CommentsAs I’ve described in a prior post, one of the most consistent findings in the work with the EGFR inhibitors Iressa (gefitinib) and Tarceva (erlotinib) is that never-smokers are far more likely to demonstrate a response and survival benefit than patients who do smoke or did smoke. Here, for instance, is the set of […]
5 CommentsBefore turning back to brain metastases, I wanted to cover a topic that has generated some recent questions, and that is the issue of potential interactions of tarceva with food and other drugs. Just as an introduction, the standard dose of single-agent tarceva in lung cancer is 150 mg by mouth daily, and this […]
7 CommentsI haven’t really covered the history or issues of directly comparing the two oral inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR, which are Iressa (gefitinib) and Tarceva (erlotinib). This is really because over the last few years, gefitinib has had disappointing results in some important trials and is no longer readily used […]
0 CommentsAfter describing the association of a rash on EGFR inhibitors with overall better outcomes on this class of agents, we can now take a step back and recognize that the rash can be an annoyance at the very least and sometimes a real problem. While there are no established guidelines, both treating physicians and patients […]
15 CommentsAn acne-like rash or dry skin is a very common side effect of the drugs that target the epidermal growth factor receptor, with approximately 3/4 of patients who receive the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhbitor tarceva/erlotinib experiencing skin toxicity. Similar skin toxicities are also seen, but a bit less commonly, with the very similar drug iressa/gefitinib, and also […]
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