Strikingly high activity of metronomic chemotherapy in a patient with locally advanced, life-threatening cutaneous squamous-cell cancer — case report and discussion of the literature

Abstract

The current treatment of choice in patients with advanced or metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin is immunotherapy based on anti-PD1/L1 antibodies. For many years, there has been a consensus, that SCC of the skin is a chemorefractory neoplasm. However, despite a recent approval of checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of cutaneous SCC, their extremely high cost makes them unavailable for many patients worldwide, and additionally, in many patients, their use may be contraindicated by patients’ clinical conditions. This article provides strong arguments that optimized and well-matched chemotherapy still represents an active treatment option even in the era of novel therapies.