Tamoxifen-induced Lung Injury

Abstract

Cases of drug-induced lung injury caused by tamoxifen are rare. A 74-year-old man underwent surgery for the treatment of right breast cancer; tamoxifen was administered as an adjuvant therapy after surgery. The patient developed cough and dyspnea and chest computed tomography showed ground glass opacification in the lower lobe of the right lung. He was diagnosed with tamoxifen-induced lung injury. The diagnosis was made based on the exclusion of other causes and recurrence with the re-administration of tamoxifen. Physicians should therefore be aware of the potential for the development of tamoxifen-induced lung injury.

Tamoxifen therapy in a murine model of myotubular myopathy

“…We also noted, in a fraction of MTM mice treated with high-dose tamoxifen starting at a very late stage of the disease (30 days), precipitant death due to pulmonary hemorrhage. There are also a small number of case reports of acute and severe lung injury in adult patients treated with tamoxifen 48 . The mechanism underlying this effect, either in our mice or in cancer patients, is not clear.…”

Tamoxifen-induced acute eosinophilic pneumonia in a breast cancer patient

“…To confirm tamoxifen as the cause of a patient’s pneumonia, tamoxifen should be restarted under patient monitoring for pneumonia recurrence as described in Etori et al [3]. Previous case reports of tamoxifen-induced pneumonia according to the symptoms, symptom onset-time from medication, and restarting or not are summarized in Table 2.…”

“…Various side effects of tamoxifen such as weight gain, sexual dysfunction, hot flashes, neurocognitive deficits, thrombogenic events, and ocular events have been reported [2]. However, tamoxifen-induced pneumonia is a very rare side effect [3].…”

Effect of Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy on the Development of Pulmonary Fibrosis after Postoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer

“…In the literature, we found 2 case reports describing lung injury after TAM administration. Etori et al [ 27 ] reported the case of a 74-year-old patient with BC who received adjuvant TAM. Due to a cough, computed tomography (CT) was performed after 3 months, and ground-glass opacification was observed.…”