2009 Volume 119 Issue 6 Pages 1085-1089
We reviewed twelve patients who developed drug eruptions induced by gemcitabine between 2002 and 2007 at Hyogo Cancer Center. Ten were male, and two were female. The average age was 64.9 years old (51–78 years old). All the cases showed maculo-papular erythema and slightly edematous erythema, mostly on the trunk. The eruptions were graded 1 or 2 according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v3.0. Ten people developed the eruption after the first administration of gemcitabine, and the other two after the second administration. The time lag from administration of gemcitabine to the eruption was an average of 4.4 days (0–10days). The eruption faded in 3–14 days (average 9.2 days) without any sequels, after gemcitabine intake was stopped. Most of the cases improved within 14 days. Six cases received consecutive courses of the same regimens of chemotherapy. The recurrence rate of the eruption in these cases was as low as 5.6%. We suggest that the drug eruption induced by gemcitabine may be mediated by a non-allergic mechanism.
