ArticleBMJ case reports2012
Cetuximab alleviates neuropathic pain despite tumour progression.
Article in BMJ case reports, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed.
- Population Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Fepixnebart (LY3016859) and Epiregulin in Patients with Chronic Pain.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2025Trial
- Epidermal growth factor receptor signaling modulates postoperative pain and inflammatory responses.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Involvement of HDAC2-mediated kcnq2/kcnq3 genes transcription repression activated by EREG/EGFR-ERK-Runx1 signaling in bone cancer pain.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2024Article
- Repurposing EGFR Inhibitors for Oral Cancer Pain and Opioid Tolerance.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Multifaceted Roles of ALK Family Receptors and Augmentor Ligands in Health and Disease: A Comprehensive Review.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Phenotypic drug screen uncovers the metabolic GCH1/BH4 pathway as key regulator of EGFR/KRAS-mediated neuropathic pain and lung cancer.Science translational medicine · 2022Article
- Review
- Treatment of Painful Palmoplantar Keratoderma Related to Pachyonychia Congenita Using EGFR Inhibitors.Biomedicines · 2022Article
- Mu-opioid receptor and receptor tyrosine kinase crosstalk: Implications in mechanisms of opioid tolerance, reduced analgesia to neuropathic pain, dependence, and reward.Frontiers in systems neuroscience · 2022Review
- Managing Chronic Neuropathic Pain: Recent Advances and New Challenges.Neurology research international · 2022Review
- Changes in serum angiogenic factors among patients with acute pain and subacute pain.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Article
- Differential effects of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors in a single patient with neuropathic pain.BMJ case reports · 2021Article
- Bridging the Translational Divide in Pain Research: Biological, Psychological and Social Considerations.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Review
- Modulation of Pathological Pain by Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Review
- Article
- The dichotomous role of epiregulin in pain.Pain · 2020Article
- An Investigation of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Analgesic Effect of Jakyak-Gamcho Decoction: A Network Pharmacology Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Vitamin D and Its Potential Interplay With Pain Signaling Pathways.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Review
- Translational Control Mechanisms in Persistent Pain.Trends in neurosciences · 2018Review
- Experimental Drugs for Neuropathic Pain.Current neuropharmacology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The authors present the case of a 68-year-old male patient with metastatic rectal cancer. A pelvic recurrence resulted in neuropathic pain, radiating down his left leg. The pain was resistant to standard treatments. However, after nearly 3 years of debilitating pain, the patient experienced dramatic relief just hours after an infusion of the antiepidermal growth factor receptor antibody cetuximab. The analgesic effect lasted for 10-12 days and was repeated roughly every 12 days for three and a half years. To test for placebo effect, the patient received (unknown to him) 20% of his usual cetuximab dose and experienced no pain relief. The dramatic analgesic effect was documented in clinical notes, medication lists and in numeric rating scales even while his cancer was in radiological progression. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-signalling is believed to be an important driver of neuropathic pain and therefore, the authors hypothesise a direct inhibition of MAPK-signalling by cetuximab in neuronal or glial cells.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.