Yousuf Zafar, MD

Barriers to cost discussions fall into three categories: inaccessible cost data, ethical concerns, and insufficient training.

Just as high-quality research has focused on limiting the physical toxicity resulting from successful treatment, future research should focus on mitigating the negative effects of financial toxicity without affecting disease-related outcomes.

Costs of care continue to rise; new cancer drugs are more expensive than ever before, and more patients are being treated with these drugs. While patients and claims datasets consistently report an association between financial burden and quality of care, the impact on traditional disease-related outcomes-survival, for example-have not been assessed.

Monoclonal antibodies to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are among the promising novel targeted therapies being explored in colorectal cancer. Two such agents that inhibit EGFR signaling by interfering with ligand-binding are cetuximab (Erbitux) and panitumumab (Vectibix). This review will address the use of cetuximab and panitumumab in chemotherapy-refractory colorectal cancer as well as in front-line therapy for the disease, consider predictors of response and resistance, and outline comparisons between these agents.