title: Rapid Response to High-Dose, Pulsatile Erlotinib in Afatinib-Refractory Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis from Adenocarcinoma of the Lung: A Case Report.
abstract: Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis occurred in an old female patient who was on a standard dose of afatinib for the treatment of her non-small cell lung cancer harboring an epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutation sensitive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors when extracranial lesions were still under control. Shifting to high-dose, pulsatile erlotinib dramatically saved her from the devastating condition in a very short period of time. Inadequate afatinib concentration in cerebrospinal fluid is reasonably suspected, and there is a call for clinical trials testing high-dose afatinib in leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.
authors: Section of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare Changhua Hospital, Changhua County, Taiwan.
authors: Frank S
authors: FS
authors: Fan
keywords: Adenocarcinoma of the lung; Afatinib; Erlotinib; Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis