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Case Reports
. 2014 May;7(2):75-7.
doi: 10.4103/0974-620X.137159.

Rapid regression of choroidal metastasis from lung cancer using erlotinib (Tarceva)

Xuemei Ye  1 , Swathi Kaliki  1 , Carol L Shields  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Rapid regression of choroidal metastasis from lung cancer using erlotinib (Tarceva)

Xuemei Ye et al. Oman J Ophthalmol. 2014 May.

Abstract

Lung carcinoma is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths and is the primary source for choroidal metastasis in over 20% cases. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85% of all lung cancer cases. Patients with metastatic NSCLC have a median survival of one year. Successful treatment of systemic metastasis from NSCLC using erlotinib has been documented. The effect of oral erlotinib on choroidal metastasis has been rarely reported. We document a case and study the effect of oral erlotinib on choroidal metastasis from NSCLC. A 48-year-old Caucasian female presented with biopsy-proven primary NSCLC with systemic metastasis and solitary choroidal metastasis of 4.8 mm thickness in the right eye. The patient was treated with 100 mg daily dose of oral erlotinib. Two weeks after starting erlotinib therapy, the patient showed complete regression of choroidal metastasis to a flat scar with resolution of subretinal fluid and improvement of visual acuity from 20/100 to 20/25. There was no evidence of recurrence at five-month follow-up. Erlotinib is an alternative therapy for choroidal metastasis from NSCLC.

Keywords: Choroidal metastasis; erlotinib; lung cancer; non-small-cell lung cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Choroidal metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma. Fundus examination (a) showed a 10 × 8 × 4.8 mm juxtapapillary choroidal mass with subretinal fluid with (b) slight hyperautofluorescence and (c) subretinal fluid and undulating choroidal mass on enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Complete regression of tumor and subretinal fluid (d, e, f) was seen two weeks after starting treatment with oral erlotinib with persistent regression (g, h, i) at five months follow-up
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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