Gefitinib administration in a patient with lung cancer undergoing hemodialysis

Gefitinib is mainly metabolized by the liver and its excretion is mostly in bile excrements. However, the feasibility of gefitinib in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis has not, so far, been reported. A 58-year-old woman with chronic renal failure due to polycystic kidney disease, undergoing hemodialysis, experienced diplopia due to meningitis carcinomatosa by lung adenocarcinoma. Sequencing analysis of her tumor tissue revealed deletion of 15 nucleotides in E746-A750 of exon 19. She started daily administration of 250mg gefitinib with hemodialysis three times a week. Her pharmacokinetic pattern after gefitinib administration was similar to those in patients with normal renal function and 88.7% of gefitinib was kept in the plasma through hemodialysis. Her symptoms and signs of meningitis carcinomatosa on brain magnetic resonance images improved. Thirteen months later, the meningitis got worse again and she stopped gefitinib administration. During gefitinib administration, there were no signs of adverse events. In summary, gefitinib is not eliminated by hemodialysis and was safely administered to a patient with non-small cell lung cancer and chronic renal failure who was undergoing hemodialysis.