Afatinib combined with cetuximab for lung adenocarcinoma with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis

We report a patient with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) developed leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) after 4 years of multiple treatments. High-dose tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) was given for LMC at first but was not effective. She then received dual therapy combining of afatinib and cetuximab. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a partial response of disease and the patient experienced a clinical benefit. Our case suggests that dual targeting of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by a combination of afatinib and cetuximab can be a potential novel treatment option in treating LMC when high-dose TKI failed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.