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Response to erlotinib in a patient with treatment refractory chordoma

Nimit Singhal1, Dusan Kotasek, Francis X Parnis

  • 1Adelaide Cancer Centre, Ashford, South Australia, Australia. nimit.singhal@health.sa.gov.au

Anti-Cancer Drugs
|September 5, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Erlotinib showed effectiveness in treating chordoma, a rare axial skeleton tumor, particularly in cases resistant to imatinib. This finding offers a new therapeutic option for patients with advanced chordoma.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Medical Research

Background:

  • Chordomas are rare tumors originating from the axial skeleton, known for slow growth, local recurrence, and infrequent metastasis.
  • Current treatment primarily involves surgery and radiation, with limited success for systemic therapies.

Observation:

  • A patient with chordoma refractory to imatinib and vascular disrupting agents was treated with erlotinib.
  • Erlotinib is an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Findings:

  • The patient exhibited symptomatic and radiological responses to erlotinib treatment.
  • This suggests erlotinib's potential efficacy in imatinib-refractory chordoma cases.

Implications:

  • Erlotinib may represent a viable treatment alternative for advanced or refractory chordoma.
  • Further research is warranted to explore tyrosine kinase inhibitors in chordoma treatment regimens.

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