Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2020 Mar 31;12(3):e7483.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.7483.

Oxaliplatin-induced Pulmonary Toxicity: A Rare but Serious Complication

Krishna H Suthar  1 , Salwan Al Mutar  2 , Rohit Venkatesan  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Oxaliplatin-induced Pulmonary Toxicity: A Rare but Serious Complication

Krishna H Suthar et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

The FOLFOX regimen (oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil) is FDA approved for use in patients with colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal malignancies. The initial phase III randomized controlled trials that led to FDA approval of oxaliplatin with leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil showed a less than 1% incidence of pulmonary fibrosis and grade IV pulmonary toxicities. Here we describe two cases of pulmonary toxicity in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with FOLFOX and briefly review the literature regarding oxaliplatin-induced pulmonary toxicity.

Keywords: chemotherapy-related toxicity; folfox; oxaliplatin; pneumonitis; pulmonary toxicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. High-resolution computed tomography of the chest for patient 1.
(a) High-resolution computed tomography of the chest for patient 1 prior to the initiation of mFOLFOX-6, (b) High-resolution computed tomography of the chest for patient 1 after 15 cycles of mFOLFOX-6 demonstrates extensive mixed solid and ground-glass opacities with mild bronchiectasis.
Figure 2
Figure 2. High-resolution computed tomography of the chest for patient 2.
(a) High-resolution computed tomography of the chest for patient 2 prior to initiation of chemotherapy, (b) High-resolution computed tomography of the chest for patient 2 after three cycles of mFOLFOX + bevacizumab showing extensive bilateral ground-glass opacities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cellular and molecular pharmacology of oxaliplatin. Raymond E, Faivre S, Chaney S, Woynarowski J, Cvitkovic E. https://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/1/3/227.long. Mol Cancer Ther. 2002;1:227–235. - PubMed
    1. Multicenter phase II study of bimonthly high-dose leucovorin, fluorouracil infusion, and oxaliplatin for metastatic colorectal cancer resistant to the same leucovorin and fluorouracil regimen. Andre T, Bensmaine MA, Louvet C, et al. J Clin Oncol. 1999;17:3560–3568. - PubMed
    1. Leucovorin and fluorouracil with or without oxaliplatin as first-line treatment in advanced colorectal cancer. de Gramont A, Figer A, Seymour M, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2000;18:2938–2947. - PubMed
    1. Literature review and practical aspects on the management of oxaliplatin-associated toxicity. Hoff PM, Saad ED, Costa F, et al. Clin Colorectal Cancer. 2012;11:93–100. - PubMed
    1. Interstitial pneumonitis after oxaliplatin treatment in colorectal cancer. Yague XH, Soy E, Merino BQ, Puig J, Fabregat MB, Colomer R. Clin Transl Oncol. 2005;7:515–517. - PubMed

Publication types