Incidence and risk of xerosis with targeted anticancer therapies

Abstract

Background: Many targeted therapies used in the treatment of cancer can lead to the development of xerosis, but the incidence and relative risk of xerosis have not been ascertained.

Objective: We conducted a systematic review and metaanalysis of clinical trials, to ascertain the incidence and risk of developing xerosis after taking anticancer drugs.

Methods: The PubMed (1966-October 2013), Web of Science (January 1998-October 2013), and American Society of Clinical Oncology abstracts (2004-2013) databases were searched for clinical trials of 58 targeted agents. Results were calculated using random or fixed effects models.

Results: The incidences of all- and high-grade xerosis were 17.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.6-20.4%) and 1.0% (95% CI: 0.9-1.5%), respectively. The risk of developing all-grade xerosis was 2.99 (95% CI: 2.0-4.3), and it varied across different drugs (P < .001).

Limitations: The reporting of xerosis may vary among clinicians and institutions, and the incidence may be affected by age, concomitant medications, comorbidities, and underlying malignancies or skin conditions.

Conclusion: Patients receiving targeted therapies have a significant risk of developing xerosis. Patients should be counseled and treated early for this symptom to prevent suboptimal dosing and quality of life impairment.

Keywords: Bcr-Abl; CD20; CD52; EGFR; HDAC; HER2; MEK; Raf; VEGFR; dry skin; incidence; mTOR; risk; xerosis.