My mom's oncologist originally ordered cetoximab or erbitux for treatment of her colon cancer. When we questioned the expense ($1,000 a week for 12 weeks) he quickly changed it to 5-FU with leucovorin. The 2nd drug is much less espensive, but is it less effective. Would the erbitux be better for her?
Both drugs are given in colon cancer. It really depends on the stage of her cancer since sometimes chemo is given as a precautionary measure after surgical removal of the tumor, in which case 5Fu and Leucovorin would probably be sufficient. Erbitux is reserved for Stage IV cases, and is given only when the tumor testing shows Kras wild type mutation, meaning that if this mutation is absent, then Erbitux is less likely to work. 5Fu and leucovorin alone have been around for years longer than erbitux but remain and are still considered as an acceptable treatment choices for Stage IV. So I guess if she has Stage IV cancer, both 5FU and leucovorin , are ok, Erbitux is good too but must have the right mutation seen on tumor testing. Erbitux being more expensive does not necessarily mean better. It is just newer in the market unlike 5Fu which has been around for about 50 years.
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Posted by eafeeback
My mom's oncologist originally ordered cetoximab or erbitux for treatment of her colon cancer. When we questioned the expense ($1,000 a week for 12 weeks) he quickly changed it to 5-FU with leucovorin. The 2nd drug is much less espensive, but is it less effective. Would the erbitux be better for her?