Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Quantitation of Intra-peritoneal Ovarian Cancer Metastasis
Published on: July 18, 2016
Gemcitabine pulmonary toxicity in ovarian cancer
Emily Ko1, Susanna Lee, Annekathryn Goodman
1Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Gynecologic-Oncology, Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2617, USA.
Background:
A case of gemcitabine-induced lung toxicity is reported in a woman with stage IIIc ovarian papillary serous carcinoma.
Case:
An 83-year-old woman with stage IIIc ovarian serous papillary carcinoma diagnosed in 2001 underwent suboptimal cytoreductive surgery followed by carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy. Initially in remission following chemotherapy, the disease subsequently progressed over the next 5 years. The patient received gemcitabine palliative chemotherapy. She developed significant pulmonary toxicity consistent with drug-induced interstitial pneumonitis, which improved with steroid therapy.
Conclusion:
Gemcitabine, a second-line chemotherapy agent for the treatment of ovarian cancer, may rarely cause a serious or even fatal condition of pulmonary lung toxicity.
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