Palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (PPE) is an uncommon adverse event with paclitaxel. We report a case of PPE due to paclitaxel to create awareness and review management strategies. A 61-year-old female with locally advanced lobular breast cancer was started on neoadjuvant chemotherapy with four cycles of dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. She completed these chemotherapy cycles uneventfully and was started on weekly paclitaxel (80mg/m2) with a gap of two weeks. After receiving the sixth dose of paclitaxel, the patient presented with erythema, swelling, and discomfort of her hands and feet, interfering with her quality of life due to difficulty in carrying out daily routine activities. The changes were acute, occurred within a few days after the sixth dose of paclitaxel, and were consistent with PPE grade 2. Paclitaxel was discontinued, and the patient was switched to docetaxel every three weeks for two cycles. She used emollients and moisturizing creams for her local symptoms, after stopping paclitaxel, erythema, swelling, and discomfort of her hands and feet resolved within two weeks. She did not have a recurrence of these symptoms with docetaxel. Paclitaxel can cause PPE. Its incidence in the literature might be underreported. Discontinuation of paclitaxel can reverse skin toxicity and improve patient's quality of life.
Keywords: hand-foot syndrome; paclitaxel; palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia.
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