A case report of refractory metastatic squamous cell carcinoma effectively treated with combination therapy of cetuximab and paclitaxel

Abstract

A 46-year-old man presented with a rapidly growing mass overlying a discoid lupus erythematosus scar on the lower lip. Biopsy revealed squamous cell carcinoma. The patient was successfully treated with selective intra-arterial chemotherapy using cisplatin combined with radiation therapy. Five months after the treatment, lymph node metastasis in the right neck was detected, and he underwent cervical lymph node dissection. Furthermore, multiple lymph node metastases had developed in the neck, medial mandibular, and axillary areas and rapidly progressed, even after the patient received radiation therapy and chemotherapy with cisplatin and S-1. Due to the EGFR mutation positivity of the tumor cells, the patient was treated with chemotherapy with cetuximab and paclitaxel, which was very effective in shrinking the metastatic tumor.[Skin Cancer (Japan) 2016 ; 31 : 276-279]