Smoothened receptor inhibitor vismodegib for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma: a retrospective analysis of efficacy and side effects.
Background: Smoothened receptor inhibitor vismodegib is indicated to treat locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (laBCC) and lesions in nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS).Methods: We treated 11 patients - including four NBCCS and seven laBCC patients - with vismodegib at our department.Results: Complete remission was achieved in three cases, without relapse after discontinuation. Two of the aforementioned patients had NBCCS, in their cases further treatment might be needed. Two patients showed improvement, but later passed away due to unrelated conditions. Two patients with laBCC initially showed remission, then the treatment was suspended due to side effects. After re-administration of the drug, loss of efficacy was observed. We did not observe therapy resistance in our NBCCS group. The rest of the patients showed good response to therapy, but have not reached full remission yet. The main side effects of vismodegib were muscle cramps, dysgeusia, nausea and alopecia. The frequency of adverse events did not show significant differences between the patient groups.Conclusions: Our results show that vismodegib therapy is effective in the treatment of BCC; however, side effects are often severe. Since the suspension of treatment can lead to therapy resistance, the management of side effects is of great importance.
['Bánvölgyi|András|A|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7071-1364', 'Anker|Pálma|P|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4690-7743', 'Lőrincz|Kende|K|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1861-1008', 'Kiss|Norbert|N|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9947-1755', 'Márton|Dalma|D|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1686-1131', 'Fésűs|Luca|L|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2196-3896', 'Gyöngyösi|Nóra|N|', 'Wikonkál|Norbert|N|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4949-8711']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D000505:Alopecia D000813:Anilides D000970:Antineoplastic Agents D002280:Carcinoma, Basal Cell D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local D011725:Pyridines D012189:Retrospective Studies D012878:Skin Neoplasms D000072086:Smoothened Receptor
vismodegib Basal cell carcinoma side effects Smo inhibitor