MELANOSIS SECONDARY TO PEGYLATED LIPOSOMAL DOXORUBICIN FOR OVARIAN CANCER TREATMENT: AN UNCOMMON EXPRESSION OF SKIN SIDE EFFECTS

Introduction: Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin is a drug whose use is increasingly common, including the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Case Report: The present case report a 50 years-old white woman affected by ovarian cancer who during the third cycle of the fifth line of chemotherapy based on liposomal doxorubicin and trabectedine developed melanosis of the skin of hands and feet. Eight weeks after the last infusion without any therapy, systemic or local, the hyperpigmentation disappear.

Discussion: An hypothesis for the melanosis is that melanin contrast the effects of free radicals generated not only by ultraviolet light but also by chemical compounds like doxorubicin and its metabolites. The reported is an uncommon side effect induced by chemotherapy based on doxorubicin. Oncologists and Gynecologists have to know all mucocutaneous manifestations induced by pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, including the less common, in order to avoid unnecessary dose modification of the drug.