The 59-year-old Ma was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2019. After the operation, he was diagnosed with kidney metastasis during the review and underwent another operation. Subsequently, he chose to receive targeted drug treatment. After several re-examinations, there was no further situation, and the old horse slowly calmed down and gradually returned to normal life.
In March last year, the old horse accidentally fell while riding a bicycle and found several small rashes on the skin next to the wound. He thought it was just an allergy, so he went to the pharmacy to buy ointment.
Who knows, the rashes are getting more and more and the itching is getting more and more obvious. Within a few days, the skin of the old horse’s neck, ears, trunk, and limbs was covered with erythema and papules of different sizes, some of which had been connected into pieces. There are soy-sized blisters on hands, feet, and joints.
This seriously affects the daily life of the old horse. He couldn’t eat well and couldn’t sleep. He boiled for a few days, and he was caught “bloody” by himself. He rushed to the dermatology clinic of Hangzhou Third People’s Hospital from other places.
“You’re not allergic, it’s probably a side effect of immunotherapy,” Dr. Cha Weifeng, who received the consultation, said to Lao Ma after carefully understanding the condition. After a series of related examinations, the old horse’s condition was very “bad”, and the rash on his body was finally diagnosed as toxic epidermal necrolysis. The disease is very rare, but it is critical and, if left unchecked, can be life-threatening.
After being admitted to the hospital, the condition of the old horse changed rapidly, and a large area of epidermal necrosis and peeling appeared on the back and legs. He was admitted to the hospital’s skin intensive care unit (DICU).
In the DICU, he experienced several blood perfusions, and he was out of danger under the daily uninterrupted skin care and multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment by medical staff. Newborn Island. After more than a month, the old horse who “shed a layer of skin” gradually improved, his spirit and appetite were greatly restored, and he was finally discharged from the hospital smoothly.
“Targeted drugs have saved the lives of many cancer patients, and at the same time made many patients suffer from rashes,” said Yao Yongwei, director of the Oncology Department of Hangzhou Third Hospital, said that acne-like rashes are targeted drugs. One of the common side effects.
For example, epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor is a kind of specific molecular targeted drug commonly used in clinic. And epidermal growth factor in our skin promotes epidermal cell growth, inhibits differentiation, protects cells from UV damage, inhibits inflammation and accelerates wound healing.
After taking such targeted drugs, although the tumor cells will not grow, but at the same time normal skin cells are inhibited, and other normal functions of the skin are also lost, which leads to the occurrence of skin diseases.
Does everyone’s “rash” look like an old horse?
Deputy Director Wu Xingang of the Dermatology Department of the Third City Hospital explained that the skin adverse reactions of targeted anticancer drugs are various, and common ones include acne-like rash, paronychia, dry skin and itching, abnormal hair, hand-foot syndrome symptoms, erythematous papular rash, etc.
Many patients started to develop rashes after taking the targeted drug for 10 days. At first, it was red, and then some became blistered with white tips. When washing the face, the white tips may break, bleed, and not itchy. , Most patients present with drug-induced follicular rash with extensive skin and mucous membranes all over the body. Due to different targeted drugs, the rash distribution is also different.
Deputy Director Wu Xingang said frankly that although most “rashes” just look scary and are not contagious or life-threatening, their high incidence will still bring great trouble to the lives of patients. .
Experts remind that the treatment of adverse reactions of targeted drugs is quite different from traditional adverse reactions of drugs. Most adverse reactions caused by targeted drugs can be prevented and treated symptomatically in advance.
(In order to protect the privacy of the parties, the patient is a pseudonym)