Reactions 1477, p33 - 9 Nov 2013

SVemurafenib

Cutaneous toxicities in an elderly patient: casereport

A 79-year-old woman developed cutaneous toxicities ofphototoxicity, verrucae and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)while receiving vemurafenib.

The woman was diagnosed with two primary melanomas in2008. She underwent wide local excision of the primarylesions. A sentinel lymph node biopsy of the left axilla showedmetastatic melanoma, and she underwent complete leftaxillary dissection. In 2011, imaging showed a mass in theduodenum and regional adenopathy, while pathology showedmetastatic melanoma of the small bowel. Her tumourharboured the serine-threonine protein kinase B-RAF (BRAF)mutation, and she started vemurafenib [dosage and route notstated]. In the month after starting the drug, she went on across-country trip, and developed significant phototoxicityalthough she used sunscreen. As the phototoxicity improved,she developed a diffuse scaly eruption and cutaneous nodules.Biopsy of the two lesions revealed verruca vulgaris and a well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma [outcome not stated].

Author comment: "Our patient poignantly demonstratesthree of the most common cutaneous side effects of BRAFinhibition in patients treated [with vemurafenib] formetastatic melanoma: phototoxicity, development ofverrucae, and formation of cutaneous SCCs and[keratoacanothomas]."Shea SM, et al. Cutaneous side effects of vemurafenib: a case report anddiscussion. Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift 163: 376-379, No. 15-16, Aug2013. Available from: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10354-013-0217-1 -USA 803095327

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Reactions 9 Nov 2013 No. 14770114-9954/13/1477-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2013 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved