Onycholysis as a complication of systemic chemotherapy : Report of five cases associated with prolonged weekly paclitaxel therapy and review of the literature

✍ Scribed by Sabir Hussain; Dina N. Anderson; Mary Ellen Salvatti; Barbara Adamson; Margaret McManus; Albert S. Braverman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 262 KB
• Volume: 88
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(20000515)88:10<2367::aid-cncr22>3.0.co;2-#

✦ Synopsis

Background:

Onycholysis has been reported in association with the use of several noncytotoxic drugs and with chemotherapy in 135 patients. onycholysis may be precipitated by exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Methods:

The authors studied 91 patients who received paclitaxel and 187 patients who received doxorubicin.

Results:

Onycholysis occurred in 5 of 21 patients who received > 6 courses of weekly paclitaxel, developing in the summer months in all 5 patients. it did not occur in patients who received fewer weekly paclitaxel courses or those who were treated every 3 weeks. onycholysis did not occur in 187 patients who received doxorubicin. review of the literature revealed that onycholysis is nearly exclusively associated with anthracycline and taxane therapy.

Conclusions:

Prolonged weekly paclitaxel, other taxanes, and anthracyclines cause onycholysis in some patients, which may be precipitated by exposure to sunlight. patients receiving these drugs should protect their nails from sunlight.