Interstitial lung disease associated with docetaxel in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND

Docetaxel is a well tolerated chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, few studies have investigated interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with docetaxel. The purpose is to describe the incidence of this complication by using NSCLC patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between September 2002 and March 2008, 392 patients with advanced NSCLC were treated with docetaxel and we retrospectively reviewed the radiography. In total, 18 patients subsequently developed ILD associated with docetaxel.

RESULTS

The incidence of ILD associated with docetaxel was 4.6%. In treated patients who showed an interstitial change on chest computed tomography (CT), the incidence was very high (25.9%). Chest radiograph showed diffuse and bilateral ground-glass appearance patterns.

CONCLUSION

Pre-existing interstitial change on CT was associated with a higher incidence of ILD (25.9%) among NSCLC patients treated with docetaxel. We don't recommend administering docetaxel for the patients with pre-existing interstitial change.