Panitumumab-Induced Pulmonary Toxicity

Mutations in EGFR have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various types of cancer, and therefore antibody therapy directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor (egfr) is increasingly being used in the management of various cancers. Currently, anti-egfr antibodies are used mainly in the management of cancers of the head and neck and metastatic colorectal cancers. Because of this increasing use, we would like to inform the oncology community in North America of a rare, but life-threatening, toxicity associated with anti-egfr antibody therapy. Although cases in white and Japanese men have been documented, we present the first known North American report of panitumumab-induced pulmonary toxicity in a white woman.