Therapeutic Effect of Anti-inflammatory Tripeptide Cream in Hand-Foot Syndrome/Skin Reaction Related to Anticancer Drugs: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial.

Purpose: Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) and hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR) are relatively common toxicities that interfere with the quality of life (QoL) of patients with cancer. Anti-inflammatory tripeptide cream (ATPC) is a complex formulation of anti-inflammatory tripeptides, the CD99-agonist Binterin and the Wnt-antagonist Winhibin. The present study aimed to assess the therapeutic effects of ATPC in HFS/HFSR associated with anticancer drugs.

Materials and methods: This was a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients who developed grade 1 HFS/HFSR after systemic anticancer treatments were enrolled, and randomly assigned to receive either ATPC or placebo cream (PC) and followed up at 3-week intervals for up to 9 weeks. Primary endpoint was the development of grade ≥ 2 HFS/HFSR.

Results: Between April 2019 and July 2022, 60 patients (31 in the ATPC and 29 in the PC group) completed the study. The incidence of grade ≥ 2 HFS/HFSR was significantly lower in the ATPC than in the PC group (25.8% vs. 51.7%, p=0.039). The ATPC showed trends towards a better QoL score, assessed by a HFSR and QoL questionnaire at 9 weeks (26.0 vs. 29.9, p=0.574), and a lower frequency of discontinuation, interruption, or dose reduction of anticancer drugs (51.6% vs. 58.6%, p=0.586) than the PC group over 9 weeks, though without statistical significance.

Conclusion: Our results showed that ATPC significantly decreased the development of grade ≥ 2 HFS/HFSR in patients already with HFS/HFSR. Therefore, ATPC may be an effective treatment for HFS/HFSR associated with anticancer drugs.