Gefitinib and afatinib treatment in an advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient undergoing hemodialysis

Anticancer Res. 2014 Jun;34(6):3185-8.

Abstract

Renal failure in cancer patients is not a rare clinical condition and often contraindicates anticancer drug treatment; moreover, chemotherapeutic drugs are frequently identified as possible iatrogenic cause of renal failure. Molecular therapies, when appropriate, could represent a therapeutic option for cancer patients with severe renal disease, but the lack of knowledge in this field, at present, limits their use in patients undergoing dialysis. Herein we describe a case, at our knowledge the first reported, of a patient with advanced lung adenocarcinoma on maintenance hemodialysis treated with gefitinib and then with afatinib; we also reviewed the literature on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) used in NSCLC patients with concomitant renal impairment.

Keywords: Afatinib; EGFR-TKI; NSCLC; dialysis; gefitinib; hemodialysis; renal failure.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Afatinib
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / drug therapy*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / pathology
  • Female
  • Gefitinib
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology
  • Middle Aged
  • Prognosis
  • Quinazolines / administration & dosage
  • Renal Dialysis*

Substances

  • Quinazolines
  • Afatinib
  • Gefitinib