Vinorelbine (
Navelbine, VRL) is commonly used for
platinum-resistant
ovarian cancer and has been shown to be effective in patients with recurrent primary peritoneal
carcinoma. Of VRL's major side effects,
skin rash is uncommon, and, if it does occur, it is usually localized to site of injection. In this case report, a 71-year-old Hispanic female with primary peritoneal
carcinoma received single agent VRL as fourth-line regimen, which she tolerated very well except for a
skin rash related to VRL. The
rash continued to progress throughout 6 cycles of VRL, and follow-up CT/PET scan demonstrated complete metabolic and radiological responses. We, therefore, believe that this
rash was linked to VRL administration and correlated with response to
therapy.
Rash has been recognized as a useful
surrogate marker with targeted agents such as
cetuximab and
erlotinib; to the best of our knowledge, this case report describes the first patient with a possible
drug rash and its association with a positive outcome. This case report incites interest in further investigation of similar cases to support this observation, since there is a lack of reports of
skin rash with VRL
therapy.