Cutaneous Toxicities in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy and Targeted Agents––An Observational Clinical Study

Systemic chemotherapy and targeted agents are associated with various cutaneous toxicities. Even though cutaneous toxicities are manageable, it often results in treatment discontinuation and worsens the patients’ quality of life. The study aimed to determine the spectrum of cutaneous toxicities in patients receiving systemic chemotherapy and targeted agents for breast cancer patients. A total of 250 out of 720 patients with breast cancer who developed various cutaneous toxicities to chemotherapeutic or targeted agents were included in the study. Among 250 patients, 57 patients were on neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 89 patients were on adjuvant chemotherapy, 68 were on palliative chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer and 36 were on targeted treatment for metastatic breast cancer. The most frequently affected site was hair (96%), followed by skin (92%), nail (34%), and mucosa (26%). The most common dermatological toxicity noticed in our study involved the hair in the form of chemotherapy induced alopecia (anagen effluvium) in 93.6%, followed by skin toxicity with generalized xerosis in 92% and, nail toxicity in 34%, and mucosal toxicity in 26%. The most common chemotherapeutic agent which caused frequent cutaneous toxicities in our patients was docetaxel followed by paclitaxel, capecitabine, doxorubicin, epirubicine, cyclophosphamide, 5-flurouracil and targeted agents like lapatinib, everolimus, and tamoxifen. Cutaneous toxicities are common following systemic chemotherapy and targeted agents. Early recognition of cutaneous side effects of these agents and prompt early interventions can reduce the significant morbidity, cosmetic disfigurement, unnecessary treatment interruptions, and psychological distress in women treated for breast cancers. Cutaneous toxicities are very common following systemic chemotherapy and targeted agents in breast cancer treatment but recognition of these toxicities by clinicians are vital in day today management of cancer patients. We studied the various spectrum of cutaneous toxicities in patients receiving systemic chemotherapy and targeted agents for breast cancer patients and recognized different cutaneous adverse events related to agents and we intervened with pharmacological as well non pharmacological methods to reduce the toxicities which resulted in alleviating subsequent anxiety in women treated for breast cancers.