Skin Toxicity as a Predictor of Survival in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated with Anti-EGFR: Fact or Fallacy?

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Targeted therapy and chemotherapy are the mainstays of treatment to improve the survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). When RAS and BRAF genes are normal, a molecular target treatment with an anti-EGFR antagonist is prescribed. Anti-EGFR antagonists induce skin responses in 50–70% of patients. There is an ongoing debate about whether the severe skin reactions brought on by anti-EGFR antagonists are associated with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). mCRC patients who received anti-EGFR therapy between October 2017 and October 2018 were retrospectively evaluated. Treatment with an anti-EGFR medication in the first-line setting was significantly associated with OS and PFS. In grades 1 and 2, there was no difference in the incidence of acne between males and females, although in grades 3 and 4, males were at a higher risk than females. In this study, skin toxicity did not predict the effectiveness of the anti-EGFR medication. ABSTRACT: The primary treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) consists of targeted therapy and chemotherapy to improve survival. A molecular target drug with an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antagonist is recommended when the RAS and BRAF genes are normal. About 50–70% of patients using anti-EGFR antagonists will experience skin reactions. Some studies have shown that severe skin reactions caused by anti-EGFR antagonists may be linked to overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), but the results are still uncertain. These data of mCRC patients who underwent anti-EGFR therapy between October 2017 and October 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 111 patients were included in this study. The survival results showed that gender, age, body mass index, primary tumor site, and recurrence did not significantly affect OS and PFS. However, the first-line anti-EGFR inhibitor treatment was significantly associated with OS (p < 0.001) and PFS (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of acne between males and females in grades 1 and 2, while males have a greater risk in grades 3 and 4 than females (20.3 vs. 4.8%; p-value = 0.041). Skin toxicity was not a predictor of anti-EGFR treatment response in this investigation.