We describe a case of a 69-year-old male patient with small cell lung cancer who developed a drug eruption due to concomitant therapy with carboplatin and etoposide. During simultaneous therapy with carboplatin and etoposide and radiotherapy, moderate drug eruption developed on the 11th day of the treatment. In a drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation assay, a negative result was confirmed for carboplatin, however, the responsiveness to etoposide could not be determined due to test drug-derived lymphocytic impairment. In the second course, irinotecan was administered instead of etoposide, and no drug eruption was observed. Thus, there was a high likelihood that the drug eruption observed in this case may have been caused by an allergic response to etoposide or its additives. Since some reports have demonstrated that the incidence of hypersensitivities, including drug eruption, to etoposide would increase in a dose-dependent manner, further accumulation and investigation of clinical data are required.

Yoshioka H, Kamohara R, Ikari H, Tamashima S, Kamimura H.

Dept. of Pharmacy, Sasebo Chuo Hospital.