Radiation recall dermatitis induced by edatrexate in a patient with breast cancer

Radiation recall with anticancer agents

There is still much that needs to be understood about radiation recall, and it is not currently possible to predict which patients will be affected and to which drugs they will react. Furthermore, there are no clearly defined characteristics of drugs that cause radiation recall, and thus, it is a possibility that must be kept in mind with use of any drug after radiotherapy, including those from new drug classes. Although it is not yet possible to design treatment regimens to eliminate the risk of radiation recall, it seems likely that risks can be minimized by prolonging the interval between completion of radiotherapy and initiation of full-dose chemotherapy.

Radiation recall is an acute inflammatory reaction confined to previously irradiated areas that can be triggered when chemotherapy agents are administered after radiotherapy. It remains a poorly understood phenomenon, but increased awareness may aid early diagnosis and appropriate management. A diverse range of drugs used in the treatment of cancer has been associated with radiation recall. As most data come from case reports, it is not possible to determine the true incidence, but to date the antineoplastic drugs for which radiation recall reactions have been most commonly reported include the anthracycline doxorubicin, the taxanes docetaxel and paclitaxel, and the antimetabolites gemcitabine and capecitabine. Radiation recall is drug-specific for any individual patient; it is not possible to predict which patients will react to which drugs, and rechallenge does not uniformly induce a reaction. There are no identifiable characteristics of drugs that cause radiation recall, and thus, it is a possibility that must be kept in mind with use of any drug after radiotherapy, including those from new drug classes. Although it is not yet possible to design treatment regimens to eliminate the risk of radiation recall, it seems likely that risks can be minimized by prolonging the interval between completion of radiotherapy and initiation of chemotherapy.

Radiation recall dermatitis: case report and review of the literature

"Radiation recall"-also called "radiation recall dermatitis"-has been defined as the "recalling" by skin of previous radiation exposure in response to the administration of certain response-inducing drugs. Although the phenomenon is relatively well known in the medical world, an exact cause has not been documented. Here, we report a rare occurrence of the radiation recall phenomenon in a breast cancer patient after palliative radiotherapy for bone, brain, and orbital metastases.

Radiation recall: A well recognized but neglected phenomenon

INTRODUCTION

Radiation recall is an inflammatory skin reaction at a previously irradiated field subsequent to the administration of a variety of pharmacologic agents. Although skin has been the major site of radiation recall toxicity, instances involving other organ have been reported.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data for this review were identified by searches of Medline and Cancerlit. The search terms "radiation", "recall", and "toxicity" were used. References identified from within retrieved articles were also used. There was no limitation on year of publication and no abstract forms were included. Only articles published in English were taken into consideration.

RESULTS

Idiosyncratic drug hypersensitivity phenomenon is a recent hypothesis which correlates best with the available facts at this moment. The phenomenon may occur days to years after radiotherapy has been completed. The majority of the drugs commonly used in cancer therapy have been involved in the radiation recall phenomenon. A mixed non-specific inflammatory infiltrate seems to be the common histopathologic criteria in previous published reports. Universally, corticosteroids or the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, in conjunction with withdrawal of the offending agent, produce prompt improvement.

CONCLUSION

We propose to collect all future radiation recall phenomenon in a Rare Cancer Network database in order to augment our understanding of this rare reaction.

Radiation Recall Dermatitis, Panniculitis, and Myositis Following Cyclophosphamide Therapy

Radiation recall dermatitis is one of the skin sequelae that may affect oncology patients. It occurs in a previously irradiated field, when subsequent chemotherapy is given. The eruption may be elicited by chemotherapy, even several months after radiotherapy. Its mechanism is poorly understood, and the histopathologic findings have received, to date, only sketchy descriptions. A 55-year-old male affected by multiple myeloma received radiation therapy both on his left coxofemoral area, and lumbar region (D11-L1). After cyclophosphamide administration, he developed 2 well defined square-shaped, infiltrated erythematoviolaceous plaques in the prior irradiated fields. Histopathologic findings revealed a diffusely fibrosclerosing process, involving deep dermis, hypodermis, as well as the underlying muscle, while sparing the epidermis and superficial-mid dermis. Histopathology was indistinguishable from deep radio-dermatitis, panniculitis, and myositis. This is the first case providing clear evidence of the causative role of cyclophosphamide in inducing a cutaneous and subcutaneous radiation recall reaction.

Gemcitabine-induced radiation recall dermatitis following whole pelvic radiation therapy

OBJECTIVES

Radiation recall dermatitis secondary to gemcitabine use has been reported in isolated cases of patients treated for breast and lung cancers. There have been no reports of radiation recall dermatitis from gemcitabine after whole pelvic radiation therapy employed as a treatment of a gynecologic cancer.

CASE

A 67-year-old woman was treated with whole pelvic radiation for palliation of lower extremity swelling and pain due to recurrent ovarian adenocarcinoma. Three months later, the patient was treated with gemcitabine for three courses. Therapy was discontinued secondary to severe cellulitis and edema of the skin of the anterior abdominal wall in the field of her prior radiation therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Radiation recall dermatitis secondary to gemcitabine should be considered in any patient with pelvic or lower abdominal skin abnormalities after pelvic radiation and subsequent gemcitabine therapy.

Acute diarrhea during adjuvant therapy for rectal cancer: a detailed analysis from a randomized intergroup trial

PURPOSE

During adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) for rectal cancer, patients receiving 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by protracted venous infusion have a higher risk of diarrhea than have patients receiving bolus 5-FU. Toxicity from a previously reported randomized clinical trial was analyzed to quantify the difference in this risk. Additionally, the persistence of diarrhea after RT was analyzed.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A total of 656 patients were eligible. Patients with T3-4 N0-2 M0 or T1-2 N1-2 M0 resected, high-risk rectal cancer were randomly allocated to receive 5-FU by either protracted venous infusion or bolus during RT (50.4-54.0 Gy). Two cycles of bolus 5-FU were given before and after RT. One-half of the first 445 patients were also randomly allocated to receive lomustine in conjunction with the bolus 5-FU. The incidence and severity of diarrhea in relation to patient and treatment characteristics were evaluated.

RESULTS

The rate of diarrhea was significantly greater in patients receiving 5-FU by protracted venous infusion than in patients receiving bolus 5-FU; the difference was most pronounced for Grade 3 (severe) diarrhea (21% versus 13%, p = 0.007). The incidence and magnitude of diarrhea before and after RT were similar. Patients treated with an anterior resection had a higher rate of severe or life-threatening diarrhea than did patients treated with an abdominoperineal resection (31% vs. 12%, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

During pelvic RT, patients who receive 5-FU by protracted venous infusion rather than by bolus have a higher risk of severe or life-threatening diarrhea during RT. This risk does not appear to persist during chemotherapy after completion of pelvic RT.

Gemcitabine-induced radiation recall

PURPOSE

To study and report 6 patients with radiation recall in unique sites, secondary to gemcitabine chemotherapy.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

The clinical presentations and outcomes of 6 patients with radiation recall secondary to gemcitabine chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed over the course of a 1-year period.

RESULTS

Radiation recall reactions were seen in the central nervous system, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and in the lymphatic and musculoskeletal systems. The time between initiation of radiation and recall of the radiation phenomenon ranged from 3 weeks to 8 months from the time gemcitabine was initiated. The usual dosage of gemcitabine in these cases was 1000 mg/m(2) given on a weekly basis. No radiation therapy was given concomitantly with gemcitabine. Treatment of the recall reaction consisted of discontinuing gemcitabine and initiating steroid therapy, supportive therapy, and/or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Minimal improvement was seen in 3 out of 6 patients, and resolution of the radiation recall was seen in 3 out of 6 patients. A comprehensive review of the literature revealed that radiation recall with gemcitabine has been related to skin reactions only; no previous cases of radiation recall occurring in the central nervous system have been reported with any chemotherapy agent.

CONCLUSION

Radiation recall from gemcitabine chemotherapy is rare, but can potentially arise in any site that has been previously irradiated. Treating physicians must be aware of this potential toxicity from gemcitabine and radiation and discontinue the gemcitabine if radiation recall is observed.

Dermatologic diseases of the breast and nipple

Breast and nipple skin is commonly affected by various inflammatory and neoplastic processes. Despite this fact, many physicians are unaware of the spectrum of diseases that can involve this area. Because breast and nipple skin represents a cosmetically, sexually, and functionally important entity to most patients, awareness of these disease entities is invaluable. This article reviews the normal anatomy of the breast, cutaneous manifestations of neoplastic processes that can present in these areas, and common inflammatory diseases of the breast and nipple skin.

Radiation recall dermatitis induced by methotrexate in a patient with Hodgkin's disease

Radiation recall dermatitis refers to an inflammatory skin reaction at a previously irradiated field subsequent to chemotherapy administration. A number of antineoplastic agents have been reported to cause this phenomenon. We observed radiation recall dermatitis in a patient with stage IV nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease after methotrexate therapy for acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. The patient had previously undergone matched related bone marrow transplantation with busulfan and cyclophosphamide as a preparative regimen. Subsequently, she received cyclosporine and methotrexate for acute GVHD prophylaxis. Two areas of skin previously irradiated to 3,000 cGy developed radiation recall dermatitis after two doses of methotrexate given 2 days apart and exacerbated by the third and fourth doses. This reaction occurred 34 days after the last dose of radiation therapy (RT). We believe this is the first case of radiation recall dermatitis after methotrexate therapy. Given the increased use of methotrexate in several neoadjuvant and adjuvant protocols in association with RT, its potential to produce radiation recall reactions should be considered.

Recurrent inflammation in a site of previous necrotising fasciitis during intravenous CMF chemotherapy

We present the case history of a patient with breast carcinoma who developed repeated inflammation at the site of previous necrotising fasciitis following each cycle of intravenous CMF chemotherapy. This complication has not previously been reported.

Mucocutaneous reactions to chemotherapy

Chemotherapeutic agents are a widely used treatment modality. Side effects range from common to unusual and may be confused with other cutaneous sequelae of oncologic treatment. The goal of this communication is to elaborate on previous descriptions of the cutaneous manifestations of chemotherapeutic treatment and to discuss more recent findings.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

At the conclusion of this learning activity, participants should be able to generate a differential diagnosis of possible etiologies for varying patterns of cutaneous involvement in patients receiving chemotherapy and identify the various cutaneous side effects of chemotherapeutic treatment. In addition, they should be able to distinguish life-threatening side effects that require immediate management from more benign manifestations of chemotherapeutic treatment.