Photo-recall cutaneous reaction to gemcitabine

Cutaneous reactions attributable to chemotherapy too often result in a modification of patients’ treatment plan. Most treatments remain largely unproven: only small series or case reports may indicate possible treatment options. Main observations: We reported the case of a male patient with gemcitabine-induced skin reaction occurred after a cycle of therapy with carboplatin plus gemcitabine following a 21 days’ schedule. The patient came to our attention for an extensive, well-demarked, erythematous, lilaceous, warm indurated lesion, covering his dorsal faces of both hands, without systemic symptoms. Clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment was prescribed as main therapy, followed by a cream containing boswellic acids. Conclusions: It is presumable that similar dermatological lesions consist in a ‘radiation recall reaction’ whereby an inflammatory reaction occurs in the area previously treated with radiotherapy or affected by a sun-burn in the past. In our patient, interestingly, there is no history of radiotherapy even if there is history of strong sun exposure. Pharmacological anti-inflammatory effect due to boswellic acids was studied and relieved only in radiation-induced dermatitis, and even if larger studies would have been set in order to have more effective results, it would be useful to study application of this compound in chemotherapy-induced cutaneous adverse reactions too.