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Gynecologic Oncology

Gemcitabine Pulmonary Toxicity in Ovarian Cancer

Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Gynecologic-Oncology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Key Words. Gemcitabine • Ovarian cancer • Chemotherapy • Pulmonary toxicity • ARDS

Correspondence: Annekathryn Goodman, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Gillette Center for Women's Cancer, Yawkey 9E-9050, 32 Fruit Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2617, USA. Telephone: 617-724-5242; Fax: 617-726-1949; e-mail:Agoodman{at}partners.org

Received February 26, 2008; accepted for publication June 2, 2008; first published online in THE ONCOLOGIST Express on July 9, 2008.

Disclosure: The content of this article has been reviewed by independent peer reviewers to ensure that it is balanced, objective, and free from commercial bias. No financial relationships relevant to the content of this article have been disclosed by the authors, planners, independent peer reviewers, or staff managers.

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.