Prospective, observational practice survey of applied skin care and management of cetuximab-related skin reactions: PROSKIN study.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to investigate strategies to prevent and treat cetuximab-induced skin reactions and their perceived effectiveness in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and recurrent/metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN). METHODS: This open-label, prospective observational study was conducted in Switzerland. RESULTS: A total of 125 patients were included (n = 91 mCRC, n = 34 SCCHN; mean age 63.3 years; 73.6% males). The frequency of acneiform rash grade ≥ 2 increased from 12.6% at week 2 to 21.7% at week 16. The proportion of patients who reported no skin reaction decreased from 75.6% at week 2 to 43.3% at week 16. The most frequently used skin products at any time of observation were moisturizing (77.6%), lipid-regenerating (56.8%) or urea-containing products (52%), systemic antibiotics (49.6%), and vitamin K1 cream (43.2%). There was no clear effectiveness pattern for all product classes: in given patients, either the product showed no effect at all or a moderate/strong effect, consistently over time. CONCLUSIONS: A great variety of low-cost general skin care products were commonly used. According to physician's preference, systemic antibiotics and vitamin K1 cream are an appropriate approach to prevent or treat cetuximab-related skin toxicity.

Efficacy and tolerability of two scalp cooling systems for the prevention of alopecia associated with docetaxel treatment.

PURPOSE: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is very distressing for a patient and may have an impact on treatment decisions. On docetaxel-based therapy, alopecia occurs in a substantial proportion of patients. We aimed to investigate whether two different methods of scalp cooling can prevent hair loss. METHODS: In this open-label, prospective, nonrandomized trial, patients with solid tumors receiving docetaxel in a palliative setting were allocated according to patients' preference to short-term cooling (over 45 min postinfusion) with a Paxman PSC-2 machine (PAX), with cold cap (CC), or no cooling. The combined endpoint was alopecia World Health Organisation (WHO) III or IV or the necessity to wear a wig. Study identifier is Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01008774. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-eight patients were included in the trial (128 patients PAX, 71 CC, and 39 no cooling). Number of cycles (median 4) and median docetaxel doses were similar across groups (55-60 mg/day on weekly therapy, 135-140 mg/day on 3-weekly therapy). Alopecia occurred with PAX, CC, and no cooling under 3-weekly docetaxel in 23, 27, and 74% and under weekly docetaxel in 7, 8, and 17%, respectively. Overall, cooling (PAX and CC combined) reduced risk of alopecia by 78% (hazard ratio 0.22; 95% confidence interval 0.12 to 0.41). CC and PAX prophylaxis led to the same degree of prevention of alopecia. Adverse events (AE) were reported in 5% (most frequently, sensation of cold), and 30 patients (13%) discontinued cooling measures after cycle 1. CONCLUSIONS: In this first comparison published to date, both PAX and CC offer efficacious protection against hair loss, in particular when docetaxel is administered in a 3-weekly interval.