title: Dexamethasone-induced flares of Trichophyton rubrum masquerading as docetaxel cutaneous toxicity: a case report.
abstract: Docetaxel chemotherapy is increasingly used in the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Cutaneous toxicity is common with docetaxel, occurring in up to 75% of cases. We present an unusual case of castration-resistant prostate cancer in which our patient developed recurrent but transient episodes of skin rash following each cycle of docetaxel. Initially, the rash was attributed to docetaxel cutaneous toxicity however a microbiological diagnosis of Trichophyton rubrum was subsequently made. We postulated that dexamethasone pre-medication transiently suppressed anti-fungal immunity, and indeed further flares were prevented by significantly reducing the dose of dexamethasone while continuing treatment with docetaxel.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of Melbourne, Austin Hospital, Austin Health, 145-163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia, 3084. Arun_azad@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Arun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Azad
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.forename: Jyotsna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jayarajan