Dr. Rugo Discusses How Stomatitis Impacts the Efficacy of Everolimus

Hope S. Rugo, MD, professor of medicine and director of breast oncology and clinical trials education at the University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses a meta-analysis that examined how stomatitis impacts the efficacy of everolimus.

Rugo says this update showed that the rates of stomatitis are similar across multiple diseases, including renal cell cancer, lung cancer, and breast cancer. The peak is at about 2 weeks, though patients who are going to end up getting stomatitis get it by week 6, Rugo says.

Rugo says most patients who experience stomatitis while taking everolimus continue treatment at a lower dose or holding. Researchers also found that in the majority of diseases, patients’ progression-free survival was similar, regardless of whether the patient had stomatitis or not.

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