Abstract

OJEDA-RODRIGUEZ, K H; CONTRERAS-MEJIA, F; PULIDO-PRIETO, L  and  LOPEZ-DAZA, D F. Treatment of locally advanced or metastatic basal cell carcinoma with Vismodegib: Experience at the national Institute of Cancerology during 2014 -2015. Rev. argent. dermatol. [online]. 2020, vol.101, n.2, pp.1-10. ISSN 1851-300X.

Introduction: Basal cell carcinoma is the most frequent skin cancer, and the activation of the Hedgehog pathway has been described in its pathogenesis. Vismodegib is a selective inhibitor of this pathway, that has shown to be effective in the treatment of locally unresectable or metastatic advanced disease. The present study describes the clinical response to treatment with vismodegib in a Colombian population. Methods: We present a case series, carried out between January 2014 and November 2015 at the National Institute of Cancerology (Bogotá, Colombia). The established treatment was Vismodegib (capsules of 150 mg orally daily), in cycles every 28 days until progression or limiting toxicity. The statistical analysis was based on the calculation of proportions in qualitative variables, measures of central tendency and dispersion for quantitative ones. Descriptive survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier) was performed. The statistical analysis was performed by the statistical software STATA 11.0. Results: 33 patients were included, of which 73% received at least 3 treatment cycles. Of these, 63.6% had a partial response and 12.1% had a complete response. The mean of progression-free and overall survival was 21.7 months (95% CI 18.9 to 24.4 months) and 22.3 months (95% CI 20.6 to 23.9 months), respectively. The most frequent adverse events were: muscle spasms (35.2%), dysgeusia (24.7%) and alopecia (15%). Conclusion: In this series of cases, despite the irregularities in the initiation and continuity of management with Vismodegib, response rates were similar to those described in the literature.

Keywords : Basal Cell Carcinoma; Hedgehog Proteins; Antineoplastic Agents.