Sweet syndrome as an adverse reaction to tyrosine kinase inhibitors: A review

Abstract

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are a class of targeted anticancer drugs that inhibit cancer cell proliferation by inactivating proteins involved in signal transduction cascades. Various cutaneous adverse events have been observed after tyrosine kinase inhibitor administration, including Sweet syndrome. We queried the PubMed database to identify 14 cases of Sweet syndrome thought to be secondary to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Tyrosine kinase inhibitor‐induced Sweet syndrome had a median of 2 months latency following drug administration. All cases but one had morphologic features classic for Sweet syndrome (erythematous and tender papules, plaques, or nodules). All cases also had classic histopathologic findings (dermal neutrophilic infiltrate without vasculitis or necrosis). Using diagnostic criteria for drug‐induced Sweet syndrome and the Naranjo Drug Reaction Probability Scale for a drug‐induced cutaneous eruption, we found that six cases favored a drug‐induced etiology over malignancy, two cases favored a malignancy‐associated Sweet syndrome, and the remaining eight met drug‐induced Sweet syndrome criteria but had low Naranjo scores. Nine cases resulted in medication discontinuation, while five cases continued anticancer therapy and were treated only with corticosteroids with quick resolution of skin lesions. Dermatologists should be aware of this adverse cutaneous reaction to tyrosine kinase inhibitors and should treat on a case‐by‐case basis, though limited evidence in this review suggests that oncologic therapy may safely be continued with prompt corticosteroid treatment.

Sweet’s Syndrome in a Patient With Seropositive Rheumatoid Arthritis After Starting Adalimumab: Is Sweet’s Syndrome Related to Rheumatoid Arthritis or Is It the Paradoxical Effect of Adalimumab?

“…Anti-TNF-α therapy has been proven effective in Sweet’s syndrome with coexisting inflammatory bowel disease, Sjogren’s syndrome [ 16 ], and RA [ 17 ]. Yang et al have reported tyrosine kinase inhibitor-induced Sweet’s syndrome with a median of two months' latency period [ 18 ]. Our patient developed Sweet’s syndrome two months after the initiation of adalimumab.…”

Sweet Syndrome in an Adolescent Patient With Differentiation Syndrome Secondary to Promyelocytic Leukemia Treatment With All-Trans Retinoic Acid

“…Minocycline has been reported to be less frequent [ 5 ]. Recently, SS has also been described as an adverse effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitors [ 11 ].…”

Neutrophilic Dermatoses: a Clinical Update

“…While most commonly associated with colony-stimulating factors (e.g., G-CSF), drug-induced SS has been reported to a variety of medications. Notable cancer therapies include ATRA, FLT-3 inhibitors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors [3,14,16,17,[41][42][43][44][45].…”