Surgical treatment remains the standard of care for nonmelanoma skin cancer and is
successful for the vast majority of patients with these tumors. The treatment of patients
with metastatic or unresectable nonmelanoma skin cancer, however, has until recently
been based solely on traditional methods of chemotherapy and radiation. However, these
methods have high rates of treatment failure, morbidity, and mortality, and alternative
treatment modalities for patients with aggressive or advanced disease are needed. As in
other areas of cancer therapeutics, recent research elucidating the molecular basis of
cancer development, and the subsequent arrival of targeted molecular inhibitors for cancer
therapy, have been met with much excitement. In this review, we seek to illuminate recent
developments and future possibilities in the use of targeted molecular inhibitors for
treatment of advanced squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and dermatofibrosarcoma
protuberans.
Semin Cutan Med Surg 30:57-61 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Surgical treatment remains the standard of care for nonmelanoma skin cancer and is
successful for the vast majority of patients with these tumors. The treatment of patients
with metastatic or unresectable nonmelanoma skin cancer, however, has until recently
been based solely on traditional methods of chemotherapy and radiation. However, these
methods have high rates of treatment failure, morbidity, and mortality, and alternative
treatment modalities for patients with aggressive or advanced disease are needed. As in
other areas of cancer therapeutics, recent research elucidating the molecular basis of
cancer development, and the subsequent arrival of targeted molecular inhibitors for cancer
therapy, have been met with much excitement. In this review, we seek to illuminate recent
developments and future possibilities in the use of targeted molecular inhibitors for
treatment of advanced squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and dermatofibrosarcoma
protuberans.
Semin Cutan Med Surg 30:57-61 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc.