When we examine a patient with symptoms of acute enteritis in the course of chemotherapy with oral fluoropyrimidines such as uracil-tegafur (often referred to as UFT), we usually suspect 5-fluorouracil-induced enterocolitis. In case of persistent clinical symptoms despite discontinuation of chemotherapy, cytomegalovirus colitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of chemotherapy-induced enterocolitis. We herein report the case of a patient who underwent surgery for lung adenocarcinoma followed by postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with uracil-tegafur and was diagnosed as having cytomegalovirus colitis during the therapy. In the course of chemotherapy, cytomegalovirus colitis occasionally occurs even though the patient does not experience severe myelosuppression; thus, it is necessary that we recognize its potential occurrence.
Keywords: 5-Fluorouracil-induced enterocolitis; Adverse effect; Chemotherapy; Cytomegalovirus colitis; Lymphopenia; Uracil-tegafur.
Copyright © 2016 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.