title: Gastrointestinal pneumatosis after docetaxel chemotherapy.
abstract: Breast cancer is one of the most frequent neoplasms in women. New drugs, including taxanes, have improved survival in patients with metastatic disease. Quality of life and efficacy are important goals during treatment of these women. Herein, we report a 51 year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer who developed gastrointestinal pneumatosis (GIP) after the first cycle of treatment, which consisted of docetaxel and pamidronate. The symptoms disappeared after 7 days with supportive management, nasogastric intubation, parenteral fluids, and wide-spectrum antibiotics. Thereafter, weekly fractionated chemotherapy with an initial 50% dose reduction was administered. Because of adequate tolerance, the dose was increased by 25% after the second cycle, and full-dose docetaxel was administered after the third cycle. After 6 months of follow-up, the patient remained under treatment, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 1. Gastrointestinal pneumatosis has been reported in association with chemotherapy. In most patients, it is reported to be associated with neutropenia, which was not present in this patient.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Angeles del Pedregal, Mexico. myrna@aztlan.innsz.mx
authors.forename: Myrna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Candelaria
authors.forename: Rene
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bourlon-Cuellar
authors.forename: José Luis García-Lascurain
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Zubieta
authors.forename: Luoise Marie
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Noel-Ettiene
authors.forename: J Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D000077143:Docetaxel; D004646:Emphysema / Q000139:chemically induced; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011006:Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis / Q000139:chemically induced*; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D043823:Taxoids; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel; D017239:Paclitaxel