Sudden onset of interstitial lung disease induced by gefitinib in a lung cancer patient with multiple drug allergy.
Gefitinib is an oral selective inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase which is effective for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. A 75-year-old man with advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung was treated with gefitinib. He had a history of allergy to several antibiotics and Welder's lung. Two days after initiation, he developed acute interstitial lung disease (ILD) and died of respiratory failure due to progression of ILD. Critical assessment pointed to gefitinib as the likely cause of this complication. This is the first report of rapid gefitinib-induced ILD. This case should alert physicians to the potential for dangerous pulmonary side-effects of gefitinib therapy, especially in patients with drug allergy.
Aoe
Keisuke
K
Departments of Respiratory Medicine, NHO Sanyo National Hospital, Respiratory Disease Center, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan. aoe@sanyou-dr.jp
Hiraki
Akio
A
Murakami
Tomoyuki
T
Maeda
Tadashi
T
Umemori
Yoshiki
Y
Katayama
Hideki
H
Eda
Ryosuke
R
Takeyama
Hiroyasu
H
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004342:Drug Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications*; D000077156:Gefitinib; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D011799:Quinazolines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011799:Quinazolines; D000077156:Gefitinib