Evidence of clinical activity for cetuximab combined with irinotecan in a patient with refractory anal canal squamous-cell carcinoma: report of a case.

Because of the high cure rate of localized anal cancers from combined modality treatment, there is little that is known for the treatment of patients who progress to have metastatic disease. Treatments currently used are based on activity demonstrated in other cancers with similar histology. Cetuximab, a molecular-targeted therapy, is an antibody directed against epidermal growth factor receptor that has demonstrated anticancer activity in several cancers. We report a female patient with refractory anal cancer who achieved an excellent response to the combination of cetuximab and irinotecan after having failed single-agent irinotecan.