Publication

Radiation recall dermatitis with soft tissue necrosis following pemetrexed therapy: a case report

Journal Paper/Review - Jan 1, 2009

Units
PubMed
Doi

Citation
Spirig C, Omlin A, D'Addario G, Loske K, Esenwein P, Geismar J, Ruhstaller T. Radiation recall dermatitis with soft tissue necrosis following pemetrexed therapy: a case report. J Med Case Reports 2009; 3:93.
Type
Journal Paper/Review (English)
Journal
J Med Case Reports 2009; 3
Publication Date
Jan 1, 2009
Issn Electronic
1752-1947
Pages
93
Brief description/objective

INTRODUCTION: Radiation recall dermatitis is a well known but still poorly understood inflammatory reaction. It can develop in previously irradiated areas and has been shown to be triggered by a variety of different drugs, including cytostatic agents. Pemetrexed may cause radiation recall dermatitis in pre-irradiated patients. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 49-year-old Caucasian woman with non-small cell lung cancer who was initially treated with carboplatin and paclitaxel concomitant with radiotherapy after suffering a painful plexus brachialis infiltration. Due to disease progression, a second-line treatment with pemetrexed was started. A severe soft tissue necrosis developed despite steroid treatment and plastic surgery. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, we present the first case of a patient with severe soft tissue necrosis in a pre-irradiated area after pemetrexed therapy. We believe that physicians treating patients with pemetrexed should be aware of the severe, possibly life-threatening effects that may be induced by pemetrexed after previous radiation therapy.