Trichomegaly of Eyelashes in Lung Cancer Following Treatment with Erlotinib

Mangalathevi Yelumalai; Azhany Yaakub; Nor Higrayati Ahmad Kasah

doi:10.58739/jcbs/v13i4.23.60

Article

Trichomegaly of Eyelashes in Lung Cancer Following Treatment with Erlotinib

VIEWS 642
PDF 179

Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences

DOI: 10.58739/jcbs/v13i4.23.60

Year: 2023, Volume: 13, Issue: 4, Pages: 130-132

Case Report

Trichomegaly of Eyelashes in Lung Cancer Following Treatment with Erlotinib

Mangalathevi Yelumalai^1,2, Azhany Yaakub^1*, Nor Higrayati Ahmad Kasah²

¹Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia

²Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, 20400 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia

*Corresponding Author
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:24 October 2023, Accepted Date:20 December 2023, Published Date:28 December 2023

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Erlotinib is widely used in the management and treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and several other types of malignancies. It is one of the inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase. Ocular side effects are rare compared to cutaneous toxicities which are more common. We are reporting a case of erlotinib induced trichomegaly in a 65-year-old Malay female who is suffering from metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung. The patient started to notice coarse eyebrows and long eyelashes almost 1 year after initiation of treatment. The length of eyelashes is around 17mm. She was treated conservatively with frequent trimming of eyelashes and eyebrows since she was asymptomatic.

Keywords: Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, Erlotinib, Trichomegaly

References

Rajadurai P, How SH, Liam CK, Sachithanandan A, Soon SY, Tho LM. Lung Cancer in Malaysia. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2020;15(3):317–323. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2019.10.021
Ellis PM, Coakley N, Feld R, Kuruvilla S, Ung YC. Use of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors Gefitinib, Erlotinib, Afatinib, Dacomitinib, and Icotinib in the Treatment of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review. Current Oncology. 2015;22(3):183–215. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3747/co.22.2566
Jin F, Zhu H, Kong L, Yu J. A spectrum of cutaneous toxicities from erlotinib may be a robust clinical marker for non-small-cell lung therapy: a case report and literature review. Onco Targets Ther. 2015;8:943–949. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2147%2FOTT.S83888
Braiteh F, Kurzrock R, Johnson FM. Trichomegaly of the Eyelashes After Lung Cancer Treatment with the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitor Erlotinib. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2008;26(20):3460–3462. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2008.16.9391
Agrawal CR, Goyal P, Doval DC, Dutta K, Domadia K, Kothiwal S. Eyelashes trichomegaly: An unusual side effect of gefitinib therapy. International Journal of Trichology. 2018;10(1):44. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4103/ijt.ijt_72_17
Albanell J, Rojo F, Averbuch S, Feyereislova A, Mascaro JM, Herbst R, et al. Pharmacodynamic Studies of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitor ZD1839 in Skin From Cancer Patients: Histopathologic and Molecular Consequences of Receptor Inhibition. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2002;20(1):110–124. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2002.20.1.110
Naranjo CA, Busto U, Sellers EM, Sandor P, Ruiz I, Roberts EA, et al. A method for estimating the probability of adverse drug reactions. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 1981;30(2):239–245. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/clpt.1981.154
Dalal A, Sharma S, Kumar A, Sharma N. Eyelash Trichomegaly: A Rare Presenting Feature of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Int J Trichology. 2017;9(2):79–81. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4103/ijt.ijt_59_16
Paus R, Burgoa I, Platt CI, Griffiths T, Poblet E, Izeta A. Biology of the eyelash hair follicle: an enigma in plain sight. Br J Dermatol. 2016;174(4):741–752. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.14217
Vergou T, Stratigos AJ, Karapanagiotou EM, Matekovits AE, Dilana KD, Tsimboukis S, et al. Facial hypertrichosis and trichomegaly developing in patients treated with the epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor erlotinib. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2010;63(2):e56–e58. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2009.11.589
Busam KJ, Capodieci P, Motzer R, Kiehn T, Phelan D, Halpern AC. Cutaneous side-effects in cancer patients treated with the antiepidermal growth factor receptor antibody C225. British Journal of Dermatology. 2001;144(6):1169–1176. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2133.2001.04226.x
Wang SBB, Lei KJJ, Liu JPP, Jia YMM. Eyelash trichomegaly following treatment with erlotinib in a non-small cell lung cancer patient: A case report and literature review. Oncology Letters. 2015;10(2):954–956. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3892%2Fol.2015.3265
Carser JE, Summers YJ. Trichomegaly of the Eyelashes After Treatment with Erlotinib in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2006;1(9):1040–1041. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17409992/

Copyright

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Published By Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education, Kolar, Karnataka