Exposure to nimotuzumab in a pregnant woman with recurrent high-grade glioma

Abstract

Nimotuzumab is a humanized anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody, approved for patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent glioma. The safety of its use in pregnancy is unknown. An adolescent of 16 years old diagnosed of relapsed anaplastic astrocytoma, received nimotuzumab as monotherapy until a 13-week pregnancy was confirmed, and the treatment was discontinued. During the gestation, she presented mild oligohydramnios at 37 weeks with preserved fetal well-being. Delivery occurred at term (38 weeks) by elective cesarean section of a female newborn weighing 2845 g, height 51 cm, head circumference 36 cm and Apgar score 9/9. The patient showed control of the disease for one year of follow-up, with no evidence of tumoral progression, and the infant evolved with a normal weight-height development. Nimotuzumab does not seem to interfere in the first trimester of pregnancy, there were no adverse effects during pregnancy or in the product of conception; neither have rebound effects been reported due to the interruption of treatment.