Safety of combination treatment with imatinib mesylate, carboplatin, and cetuximab in a patient with multiple cancers: a case report

Purpose: Therapies directed against multiple signaling pathways have been validated in the clinical setting as effective anticancer treatments. The combination of different agents is particularly helpful in patients with multiple cancer diagnoses, while data on cross-toxicity are frequently missing, as for imatinib and cetuximab plus platinum drugs. Methods: We present the case of a 76-year-old man with advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Combined treatment with imatinib mesylate and cetuximab plus carboplatin was well-tolerated by the patient, who did not develop neutropenia. By an interdisciplinary approach with hematology specialists, the anticipated neutropenia was managed by the temporary interruption of imatinib treatment when the white blood cell (WBC) count nadir was expected to occur. Results: Although treatment with imatinib, carboplatin, and cetuximab can be associated with hematologic toxicities, a combination regimen based on the concomitant administration of these 3 drugs and on the discontinuation of imatinib at the predicted nadir of WBC count was feasible and well-tolerated in a patient with concomitant CML and locally advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusions: Our report indicates the feasibility of combination imatinib and cetuximab plus carboplatin in a case of multiple cancer diagnoses, provided that the treatment with imatinib is modulated according to the expected bone marrow depression.