Background: Pemetrexed-induced eyelid edema is a rare side-effect of pemetrexed treatment.
Patients and methods: Retrospective analysis of the incidence and severity of eyelid edema was conducted in patients treated with pemetrexed in a single institution.
Results: Eighty-six patients received pemetrexed-containing chemotherapy either as a single agent (45 patients) or in combination with cis- or carboplatin (41 patients). Two patients (2.3%) with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presented the edema typically localized in the lower eyelid after first-line treatment with carboplatin-pemetrexed. The edema remained identical in both patients during treatment and regressed in one patient in whom treatment was withdrawn. No other localizations of edema were observed in these patients.
Conclusion: Pemetrexed-induced eyelid edema may be more frequent than originally reported. The physiopathological mechanism and, as a consequence, the treatment and/or prevention of this apparently benign side-effect remains unknown.