Taxane induced pulmonary toxicity in breast cancer.

Abstract

e15522 Background: Taxanes are an integral part of chemotherapy for a broad range of tumor types. The usual toxicities associated with Taxane use are peripheral neuropathy, myelosuppression and musculoskeletal adverse effects. Very few studies have reported taxane induced pulmonary toxicity objectively. In our study we explored Taxane induced pulmonary toxicity based on discrete CT findings. Methods: 40 non-smokers diagnosed with Her-2 negative breast cancer who received Taxane monotherapy from 2017 to 2018 were retrospectively analyzed for pre and post therapy CT changes. Following CT findings were considered significant as pulmonary toxicity; (a) Nonspecific area with ground-glass attenuation, (b) multifocal areas of airspace consolidation, (c) patchy distribution of ground-glass attenuation accompanied by interlobular septal thickening and (d) extensive bilateral ground-glass attenuation or airspace consolidations with traction bronchiectasis. The CT findings were assessed independently by two radiologists and one pulmonologist. Results: Our study showed that 5 patients (12.5%) developed pulmonary changes on chest CT post Taxane therapy as summarized in Table. Conclusions: Our study shows that taxane has more potential to induce pulmonary toxicity than reported in present literature. Given that taxanes are the most widely used chemotherapy, it is of utmost necessity to be cognizant of this under-reported potentially fatal adverse effect in a large population. Further studies should be conducted to better understand the true potential, mechanisms and patterns of taxanes induced pulmonary toxicity. [Table: see text]