Acute Fatal Liver Toxicity under Erlotinib
Sabina Schacher-Kaufmann1, Miklos Pless
1Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Winterthur, Switzerland.
Abstract:
We describe the case of a never-smoker who received second-line erlotinib as a treatment for his non-small cell lung cancer. Within one month, acute hepatic failure developed as well as a thrombotic-thrombocytopenic microangiopathy, with fatal outcome. In patients with non-small cell lung cancer, hepatic toxicity of erlotinib is a rare but severe complication; so far three fatal cases have been reported. Patients' liver function should be assessed before starting erlotinib and special care is recommended if pretreatment bilirubin is elevated.
Related Concept Videos
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Pathophysiologic Assessment and Liver Function Test
Drug Toxicity: Risk factors
Drug Toxicity: Overview
Drug toxicity: Idiosyncratic Reactions
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Drug Dosing and Hepatic Blood Flow
Drug Toxicity: Dose-Dependent Reactions

