Cutaneous adverse reactions of imatinib therapy in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia: A six-year follow up

• Published in: EJD. European journal of dermatology Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 133 - 137
• Main Authors: Dervis, Emine, Ayer, Mesut, Akin Belli, Asli, Barut, Saime Gul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris John Libbey Eurotext 01.03.2016
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alopecia - chemically induced; Antineoplastic Agents - adverse effects; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Cheilitis - chemically induced; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dermatology; Drug Eruptions - etiology; Drug Eruptions - pathology; Edema - chemically induced; Exanthema - chemically induced; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Hyperhidrosis - chemically induced; Imatinib Mesylate - adverse effects; Imatinib Mesylate - therapeutic use; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive - drug therapy; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Pigmentation Disorders - chemically induced; Stomatitis, Aphthous - chemically induced; Therapy; Time Factors; Young Adult; chronic myeloid leukemia; drug eruptions/etiology; imatinib mesylate; adverse reactions
• ISSN: 1167-1122; 1952-4013
• DOI: 10.1684/ejd.2015.2684

Background Imatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Cutaneous adverse reactions of imatinib therapy have been reported in 7%-88.9% patients. Objectives We sought to evaluate the prevalence rates of cutaneous adverse reactions of imatinib therapy and to investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics of these reactions. Materials and methods Sixty-six patients (36 men, 30 women; age range 19-83 years) with CML treated with imatinib between 2008 and 2014 were included in the study. Clinical and pathological features of the adverse reactions were investigated. Results Cutaneous adverse reactions were the most common adverse effects of imatinib therapy and were seen in nine patients with a prevalence rate of 13.6%. The second most common adverse effect was musculoskeletal pain (12.1%). The following cutaneous reactions were observed in patients: edema, rash, pigmentary changes, aphthous stomatitis, alopecia, cutaneous dryness, hyperhidrosis and cheilitis. Imatinib therapy was discontinued in four patients because of various adverse effects. Conclusion Although the prevalence rate of cutaneous adverse reactions in our study was lower than that in several other studies, cutaneous reactions were common in our study. The relatively low prevalence rate of adverse reactions may be related to the lowdosage of imatinib (400 mg/day) used to treat our patients and may have been affected by pharmacogenetic characteristics of our population.