SynthesisBMC medicine2014
Incidence and risk of severe infections associated with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC medicine, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk of high-grade infections in colorectal cancer patients treated with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous adverse effects of targeted therapy, antibody-drug conjugates, and immunotherapy in cancer patients: a national consensus statement by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology and the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Review
- Listeriosis in a Metropolitan Hospital: Is Targeted Therapy a Risk Factor for Infection?Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Real-world clinical outcomes and prognostic factors in Japanese patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck treated with chemotherapy plus cetuximab: a prospective observation study (JROSG12-2).International journal of clinical oncology · 2021Article
- Dermatologic conditions in women receiving systemic cancer therapy.International journal of women's dermatology · 2019Review
- Treatment-related severe and fatal adverse events with molecular targeted agents in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer: a meta-analysis.OncoTargets and therapy · 2017Article
- SYSTEM-WIDE MAPPING OF ACTIVATED CIRCUITRY IN EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE SYNDROME.Shock (Augusta, Ga.) · 2016Article
- EGFR-directed antibodies increase the risk of severe infection in cancer patients.BMC medicine · 2015Article
- Risk of infection associated with targeted therapies for solid organ and hematological malignancies.Therapeutic advances in infectious diseaseReview
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) have been widely used in a variety of malignancies. Severe infections (≥grade 3) are potentially life-threatening adverse events with these drugs. However, the contribution of anti-EGFR MoAbs to infections is still unknown. We performed this meta-analysis to determine the overall incidence and risk of severe infections in cancer patients treated with these drugs.
methodsThe databases of PubMed and abstracts presented at oncology conferences and published in the proceedings were searched for relevant studies from January 2000 to May 2014. Summary incidences, relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by using either random effects or fixed effect models according to the heterogeneity of included studies.
resultsA total of 14,066 patients from 26 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. The use of anti-EGFR-MoAbs significantly increased the risk of developing severe infections (RR 1.34, 95%CI: 1.10 to 1.62, P=0.003) in cancer patients, but not for fatal infections (RR 1.62, 95%CI: 0.81 to 3.26, P=0.18). Meta-regression indicated the infections might possibly occur early in the treatment with anti-EGFR MoAbs. On sub-group analysis, the risk of severe infections significantly varied with tumor type (P=0.001). When stratified by specific anti-EGFR MoAbs, a significantly increased risk of infections with cetuximab was observed (P<0.001), but not for panitumumab (P=0.98). Additionally, the use of anti-EGFR MoAbs significantly increased the risk of severe infections when used in conjunction with cisplatin (RR 1.48, 95%CI 1.22 to 1.79, P<0.001) or irinotecan (RR 1.53, 95%CI 1.12 to 2.10, P=0.008). When stratified by specific infectious events, anti-EGFR-MoAbs significantly increased the risk of developing severe sepsis (RR 4.30, 95%CI: 1.80 to 10.27; P=0.001).
conclusionsAnti-EGFR MoAbs treatment significantly increases the risk of developing severe infectious events in cancer patients. The risk may vary with tumor types. Clinicians should be aware of the risks of severe infections with the administration of these drugs in cancer patients.
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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.