[Raltitrexed-induced skin reaction].
BACKGROUND
Raltitrexed (Tomudex(R)) is a thymine synthetase inhibitor used for first line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Skin reactions were reported in the preclinical trials but have never been documented in clinical practice. We report the first two cases.


METHODS
Two patients, aged 75 and 65 years, were given raltitrexed for adenocarcinoma of the rectum for the first case and of the sigmoid for the second. Both developed a skin reaction 5 and 7 days after onset of treatment. These patients had erythromatous edematous and purpuric skin reactions associated with asthenia, diarrhea and moderate fever. The skin lesions were painful and pseudo-cellulitic. They were generalized in the first case and localized on the legs in the second. The reactions subsided in both cases 15 days after drug withdrawal after a desquamation phase.


CONCLUSIONS
We report the first two cases of raltitrexed-induced pseudo-cellulitic skin reactions.
Topard
D
D
Centre Régional de Lutte contre le Cancer, Val d'Aurelle, 34298 Montpellier Cedex 5.
Hellier
I
I
Ychou
M
M
Guillot
B
B
D000368:Aged; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011799:Quinazolines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000009:adverse effects*
D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D011799:Quinazolines; D013876:Thiophenes; C068874:raltitrexed