Dacomitinib (PF-00299804) in Advanced/Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Penis

Penile squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a very rare disease and prognosis depends primarily on regional lymph-node involvement. Despite the fact that cure can be obtained in patients with low metastatic load (pN1) by monotherapy, combination therapy is required for more advanced cases. Medical treatment options only for advanced or metastatic penile SCC are not very effective so far and the few chances for cure are solely dependent on multimodality treatment, either with surgery or radiation. Based on the observation that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is almost invariably expressed in penile SCC and assuming similarities to the SCC of head and neck district, anti-EGFR targeted monotherapy has been investigated with promising early results at Istituto Tumori Milan and University of Texas MD Andreson Cancer Center. These premises lend support to the use of the pan-HER inhibitor dacomitinib for advanced or metastatic penile SCC.