Treatment of gefitinib-associated folliculitis

Abstract

Gefitinib (Iressa), an epidermal growth factor inhibitor approved for treatment of advanced nonsmall cell lung carcinoma, is associated with an acneiform distributed folliculitis. Treatment attempts for this folliculitis have been noted in the literature, but photodocumentation of results has not been reported. We report 3 consecutive cases of gefitinib-associated folliculitis with photodocumentation of their treatment responses to combination therapy with topical metronidazole and oral tetracyclines.