Amifostine-induced toxic epidermal necrolysis during radiotherapy: a case report

Amifostine is a phosphorylated aminothiol prodrug that can selectively protect normal tissues against the toxic effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In clinical use amifostine is well tolerated and may rarely cause allergic reactions. Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are two closely related entities that present with severe acute mucocutaneous reactions most often triggered by drugs. There are only two case reports related to the use of amifostine during radiotherapy, one case with SJS and the other with SJS-TEN overlap. In this paper, a case with amifostine-induced TEN during radiotherapy is presented.