Docetaxel-induced subungual hemorrhage

Onychalgia Causes and Mechanisms: The “GIFTED KID” and the “FOMITE”

This article gives an account of the commonest causes of nail pain. The acronyms GIFTED KID and FOMITE will help aid doctors in a busy clinical setting to remember the main causes of onychalgia, respectively, on the fingers and toes. It includes a brief overview of the clinical characteristics and focuses on the type of pain for each condition as well as the mechanisms that cause it.

Nail abnormalities associated with systemic pathologies

Nail abnormalities can arise in conjunction with or as a result of systematic pathologies. These pathologies include single-organ diseases, multisystemic diseases, and drug-induced insults. Clinical signs associated with these conditions include dyschromias, vascular alterations, periungual tissue changes, textural dystrophies, contour alterations, and growth-rate alterations. The associated systemic pathologies may affect any part of the nail apparatus, including the nail matrix, the nail plate, the nail bed, the underlying vasculature, and the periungual tissues. The anatomical location and extent of damage determine the clinically manifested anomaly.

Acitretin-induced subungual hemorrhage

A 20-year-old woman with a 2-year history of histologically confirmed palmoplantar keratoderma due to psoriasis, resistant to several topical agents, was admitted to the Department of Dermatology, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey. Therapy with oral acitretin (0.5 mg/kg/day, 35 mg/day) was initiated. A month after starting acitretin treatment, she noted slight reddening of the second left fingernail. Clinical examination revealed red-brown discoloration of the second fingernail associated with subungual hemorrhage involving the proximal nail bed (lunula region) (Fig. 1). The nail change was asymptomatic. The patient complained only of discoloration underneath the nail plate. No abnormalities were detected on the skin, mucous membranes, or toenails/other fingernails. The patient denied exposure to microtrauma or any other drugs. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate, full blood cell count, electrolytes, renal and hepatic tests, and serum lipids were normal. Coagulation tests, including blood clotting time, international normalized ratio, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, platelet number, and function tests, were within normal levels. Treatment with acitretin was discontinued, and the nail change resolved completely after 3 weeks. A similar episode of subungual hemorrhage recurred, however, within 48 h after re-challenge with a lower dose of acitretin (25 mg/day). The drug was definitively stopped and the eruption faded again within a week. An objective causality assessment suggests that subungual hemorrhage was probably related to acitretin in this patient.

Docetaxel-induced onycholysis: the role of subungual hemorrhage and suppuration

Nail changes are common side effects of taxane chemotherapeutic agents. Docetaxel (Taxotere) is known to cause a great incidence of nail change. Various types of nail changes have previously been reported as a result of treatment with taxanes. We describe 2 cases of severe nail changes induced by docetaxel. The patients had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer and advanced gastric cancer, respectively. During the course of treatment with docetaxel, nail changes became apparent in both patients. Initially, they complained of nail bed purpura. Subungual hematomas with hemopurulent discharge were later observed in several fingers. Drainage of the hemopurulent material occurred spontaneously in our cases, leading to onycholysis. Following drainage, the pain in the nail with subungual hemoprulent material was relieved immediately and spontaneous healing of the patients' nails was noticed after few months. Subungual hemorrhage and suppuration therefore are considered causes of onycholysis and the pain in these patients. Although systemic or topical antibiotics were not used to treat these patients, antibiotics may be also worthwhile to hasten the drainage of the subungual hematomas and suppuration in patients for quick relief of pain.

Dermatologic toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents

Due to its high metabolic rate, skin represents one of the major target organs of chemotherapy-associated toxicity. Reactions range from common, nonspecific exanthematous eruptions to rare but distinctive cutaneous lesions that may not become apparent until a drug transitions from clinical trials to widespread oncologic use. The challenge of the physician is to recognize reaction patterns that reflect a drug reaction, identify a likely causative drug, and determine whether the reaction is a dose-limiting toxicity. This review will focus on the cutaneous side effects of the newer classes of chemotherapy drugs, including targeted monoclonal antibody therapy and small molecule inhibitors.

[Nail disorders from epothilone]

We present the cases of two patients diagnosed with non-microcytic lung carcinoma who were treated with epothilone, a new chemotherapeutic agent which disrupts microtubule dynamics. The first one developed nail symptoms consisting of painful nails with a hemorrhagic appearance, which developed into significant structural disorders and onycholysis of all of the fingernails. The patient required antibiotic treatment for the associated paronychia and surgical removal of some of the nails. In the second case, asymptomatic dyschromia of the toenails appeared, with no inflammatory component. These findings show the similarity of the adverse effects of epothilone with those of the taxanes.

Taxane-induced nail changes: incidence, clinical presentation and outcome

The clinical characteristics of nail changes in seven patients receiving taxane-containing chemotherapy are described. They include nail pigmentation, subungual hematoma, Beau's lines and onycholysis and subungual suppuration. The incidence of such changes (ranging from 0% to 44%) is reviewed from a Medline search of the literature.

Docetaxel-induced nail dystrophy

A 73-year-old man with metastatic prostate cancer treated with weekly docetaxel chemotherapy for 5 months developed an acute nail dystrophy restricted to the fingernails. This was characterized by onycholysis, subungual haemorrhage and acute paronychia, progressing to a subungual abscess of the right index finger. Nail bed hyperaemia and haemosiderin-like nail bed discoloration were present. Nail plate avulsion was performed to decompress the acutely painful subungual abscess. The right thumb, middle finger and left index finger demonstrated early, proximal white subungual collections of pus obscuring the lunula (onychophosis). Central nail plate fenestrations with a surgical drill led to exudation of purulent material. Cultures of the subungual abscess material yielded mixed organisms, possibly related to administration of flucloxacillin for 1 week prior to presentation. The patient completed a further two courses of docetaxel without sequelae, and the nail dystrophy appears to be resolving. Docetaxel-induced nail changes are a common adverse effect, occurring in 30-40% of patients. Mild changes do not usually warrant the discontinuation of treatment.

Docetaxel: an update of its use in advanced breast cancer

Docetaxel, a semisynthetic member of the taxoid class of antineoplastic agents, is effective in the treatment of patients with advanced (locally advanced or metastatic) breast cancer. Reported objective response rates for docetaxel 100 mg/m2 ranged from 54 to 69% and 53 to 82% as first-line monotherapy or combination therapy, respectively. Objective response rates of 23 to 65% and 30 to 81% have been reported for docetaxel as second-line monotherapy or combination therapy, respectively. In Japanese studies, second-line docetaxel 60 mg/m2 produced objective response rates of 42 to 55%. At the recommended dose of 100 mg/m2 given as a 1-hour intravenous (i.v.) infusion every 3 weeks, docetaxel had significantly greater efficacy than doxorubicin, mitomycin plus vinblastine and methotrexate plus fluorouracil, and similar efficacy to fluorouracil plus vinorelbine in pretreated patients with advanced breast cancer. In chemotherapy-naive patients, first-line combined therapy with docetaxel and doxorubicin had significantly greater efficacy than doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide. Promising results have been achieved in phase I/II trials of a weekly regimen of docetaxel (generally 30 to 45 mg/m2). Preliminary data indicate a potential role for docetaxel in the neoadjuvant therapy of early breast cancer. The major dose-limiting adverse event associated with docetaxel is neutropenia. Although other adverse events are common, the tolerability profile of docetaxel is generally acceptable in the majority of patients, particularly in comparison with other antineoplastic regimens.

CONCLUSIONS

Although no single standard regimen has been identified as optimal for the treatment of advanced breast cancer, phase III trials have shown that docetaxel has improved efficacy over doxorubicin alone (considered one of the current gold standards), methotrexate/fluorouracil and mitomycin/vinblastine in second-line therapy. In combination with doxorubicin, docetaxel has demonstrated better efficacy than doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide in first-line therapy. These results provide a basis for therapy choice in advanced breast cancer. Clinical trials comparing docetaxel monotherapy versus paclitaxel monotherapy and versus docetaxel combination therapy are warranted. The role of docetaxel in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant treatment of early breast cancer is being evaluated.