Abstract

Background: Supra-venous serpentine dermatitis is a rare and self-limited cutaneous reaction to various chemotherapeutic agents.

Case presentation: We describe a case of supra-venous serpentine dermatitis triggered by docetaxel in a middle-aged female patient who received chemotherapy for triple negative breast cancer. Lesions affected the chest, neck, and the arm that was used to infuse docetaxel. The diagnosis was based on skin biopsy results showing pathology consistent with an interface dermatitis. The patient was treated with oral and topical glucocorticoids. Her second cycle of chemotherapy was infused at a slower rate, preceded and followed by boluses of normal saline. Her acute reaction resolved after 2 weeks and she tolerated her second cycle of docetaxel-cyclophosphamide without issues.

Conclusion: Oncologists and dermatologists should be aware of this potentially alarming reaction to docetaxel and other chemotherapeutic agents because adjustments to therapy are unnecessary and may result in undue harm as a result of suboptimal cancer treatment.

Keywords: Docetaxel; Supra-venous; Dermatitis; Cutaneous; Toxicity; Chemotherapy; Breast cancer

Abbreviations: ED: Emergency Department; HSV: Herpes Simplex Virus; PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction; VZV: Varicella Zoster Virus