Acute interstitial pneumopathy associated with docetaxel hypersensitivity

Acute pulmonary toxicity in cancer patients treated with docetaxel has been reported in previous phase II studies and case reports. Unlike transient pulmonary infiltrates, it is demonstrated that docetaxel-induced interstitial pneumopathy is a severe clinical condition that generally leads to respiratory failure.

We report a patient with breast cancer who received 2 cycles of docetaxel in 3-week intervals and developed respiratory failure. The clinical, pathologic, and radiographic data supported pulmonary toxicity caused by a hypersensitivity reaction to docetaxel as the most likely etiology. The patient developed the same symptoms and radiological findings after 1 cycle of paclitaxel administration. Unlike other more severe examples in the literature, this patient's condition did not require mechanical ventilation, and she recovered after corticosteroid treatment.

The present case raises the possibility that taxanes, as a group of chemotherapeutic agents, may cause the same type of adverse reaction in the pulmonary parenchyma. The authors recommend that any patient who develops a taxane-induced pulmonary toxic reaction, not be rechallenged or treated with another agent of the same class.