Multidisciplinary Collaboration for Skin Disorders in Patients Treated with Anti-EGFR Antibodies

Abstract

To prevent skin disorders caused by anti-EGFR antibodies, smooth multidisciplinary care is required. However, few studies have demonstrated the usefulness of multidisciplinary care in this field. In this study, as a tool for multidisciplinary collaboration, we created a treatment progress sheet to share skin symptoms among physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. We established a system in which dermatologists can intervene as soon as possible when there is no improvement in Grade 2 skin disorders. To evaluate this collaboration system, we surveyed the incidence of more than Grade 3 skin symptoms in patients who received anti-EGFR antibodies (panitumumab or cetuximab) and compared the incidence rates between January 2014 and August 2017 (before the system was established) and between September 2017 and September 2022 (after the system was established). After establishing the collaborative system, the incidence of severe skin disorders during anti-EGFR antibody treatment significantly decreased from 19.5％ to 4.4％. This result clearly demonstrated that the development of severe skin disorders can be suppressed by sharing information among multiple professions using treatment progress sheets.