ACUTE CUTANEOUS REACTIONS TO DOCETAXEL, A NEW CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENT

Background: Docetaxel (RP 56976) is a new chemotherapeutic agent that has shown promise in a number of animal studies and is currently under going phase I and phase II trials. Early in the phase I trials, it was noted that a significant number of patients were experiencing a varie ty of cutaneous complaints, so we elected to prospectively evaluate th e cutaneous reactions occurring during the first three courses of ther apy in the first 12 patients enrolled for phase I chemotherapy at our institutions. Observations: All but one patient had some type of cutan eous eruption over the three courses of therapy. Of the 27 evaluable c ourses of docetaxel given, 19 (70%) resulted in a cutaneous eruption w ith four (21%) being asymptomatic and 15 (79%) being at least mildly s ymptomatic. The most common reaction seen was characterized by discret e erythematous to violaceous patches or edematous plaques similar to a cral erythema. Conclusion: Although a majority of patients receiving d ocetaxel experience some degree of cutaneous reaction, the eruptions a re usually mildly symptomatic and almost always self-limiting.