Concurrent Vismodegib and Radiotherapy for Recurrent, Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

Importance

Vismodegib is a targeted agent recently approved for treating patients who develop recurrent or locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and will inevitably be integrated into existing therapy for advanced BCC as it becomes increasingly used. Improved understanding of how vismodegib interacts with other treatment modalities, including radiotherapy, would help optimize multidisciplinary therapy and clinical outcomes.

Observations

We report 2 cases of recurrent, advanced BCC treated from April 1, 2012, through October 31, 2014, with concurrent radiotherapy and vismodegib. Concurrent treatment appeared to be well tolerated and efficacious, with both patients having no evidence of progressive disease at last follow-up.

Conclusions and Relevance

We found that the combination of vismodegib and radiotherapy is feasible for patients with recurrent or locally advanced BCC and that combined use of currently available therapies for advanced BCC warrants further prospective study.