Yamada, M., Iihara, H., Fujii, H., Ishihara, M., Matsuhashi, N., Takahashi, T., . . . Itoh, Y. (2015). Prophylactic effect of oral minocycline in combination with topical steroid and skin care against panitumumab-induced acneiform rash in metastatic colorectal cancer patients. Anticancer Research, 35, 6175–6181. Retrieved from http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/35/11/6175.full
To investigate the effects of oral minocycline and topical steroid along with skin moisturizer on the incidence of skin effects in patients receiving panitumumab
Data were obtained from a retrospective chart review to compare the outcomes of patients who received prophylactic versus reactive oral minocycline. Patients received either 100 mg minocycline daily preemptively or as treatment for skin disorders. Topical steroid could be administered at any time based on physician discretion. All patients were to perform skin care by using a moisturizer.
PHASE OF CARE: Active antitumor treatment
The incidence of grade 2 or higher acneiform rash was 44% in the prophylaxis group versus 84.6% in the reactive treatment group (odds ratio = 0.143, p = 0.04). No significant differences existed in incidence of other adverse reactions, including dry skin, pruritus, and paronychia. Incidence of grade 1 skin reactions was higher in the group that received prophylactic minocycline (p = 0.02). No significant differences in tumor response or time to treatment failure were observed.
The findings suggest that the prophylactic use of minocycline in patients receiving panitumumab may be helpful to reduce the incidence of more severe skin reactions.
Prophylactic administration of tetracyclines may have some preventive effects in terms of skin toxicities with epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitiors; however, limited evidence exists to demonstrate efficacy. This small study provides limited evidence regarding this. Further well designed studies are needed to identify the efficacy of oral antibiotics and other aspects of skin care that are most beneficial to prevent skin effects from cancer treatment.