Risk of severe rash in cancer patients treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Future Oncol. 2016 Dec;12(23):2741-2753. doi: 10.2217/fon-2016-0180. Epub 2016 Aug 15.

Abstract

Aim: We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of severe rash associated with the use of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE and oncology conference proceedings were searched for articles published till March 2016.

Results: A total of 18,309 patients from 37 randomized controlled trials were available for the meta-analysis. The overall incidence for severe rash was 6.6% (95% CI: 5.2-8.3%) among patients receiving EGFR-TKIs. The use of EGFR-TKIs significantly increased the risk of developing severe rash (risk ratio: 7.70; 95% CI: 5.79-10.23) in cancer patients. On subgroup analysis, the increased risk of severe rash was driven predominantly by drug type (p = 0.002).

Conclusion: EGFR-TKIs significantly increase the risk of developing severe rash in cancer patients.

Keywords: EGFR-TKIs; RCTs; afatinib; cancer; erlotinib; gefitinib; meta-analysis; risk factors; severe rash; systematic review.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / adverse effects*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
  • ErbB Receptors / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Exanthema / diagnosis
  • Exanthema / epidemiology*
  • Exanthema / etiology*
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Neoplasms / complications*
  • Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Odds Ratio
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / adverse effects*
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Publication Bias
  • Risk
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • ErbB Receptors