Pulmonary toxicity associated with the use of lenalidomide: Case report of late-onset acute respiratory distress syndrome and literature review

Lenalidomide induced pneumonitis

INTRODUCTION

Iatrogenic lung injury is a very rare, albeit serious complication with antineoplastic therapy, including immunomodulatory drugs. Pneumonitis typically presents clinically with symptoms such as cough, dyspnea, fever, and hypoxemia. Radiographic evaluation often demonstrates diffuse, patchy infiltrates and ground-glass opacities.

CASE REPORT

We present a case in which therapy from an immunomodulatory drug, lenalidomide, elicited a pneumonitis in the form of a 9 cm lung mass. An exhaustive workup was completed to rule out viral, bacterial, and fungal infections as well as malignant causes. Lenalidomide-induced lung injury was suspected.

MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOME

Lenalidomide was discontinued and corticosteroid therapy was initiated. This resulted in a complete clinical and radiographic resolution of symptoms.

DISCUSSION

Several case reports of pneumonitis have been associated with immunomodulatory drug therapy, and while most of these exhibit diffuse ground-glass opacities radiographically, our patient presented with a 9 cm lung mass. Our findings stress the importance of a thorough medication review while ruling out other potential causes of lung injury.

Characteristics and Follow-Up of Organizing Pneumonia Associated with Haematological Malignancies

Background

Organizing pneumonia (OP) is a secondary process in many diseases. Due to its low incidence and indistinct symptoms, there is limited information on OP associated with haematological malignancies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to discuss the characteristics and prognosis of OP associated with haematological malignancies.

Methods

We observed and analysed pathologically confirmed OP cases associated with haematological malignancies in a hospital record database and excluded cases of OP with known causes, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, transplantation and infection.

Results

There were five patients with OP underlying only haematological malignancies, including one case each of the following: myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myelogenous leukaemia, multiple myeloma, aplastic anaemia, and T cell lymphoma. Radiological findings did not show a distinct pattern, and two cases mimicked pulmonary aspergillosis with ground-glass opacity (GGO). The diagnosis of OP was confirmed by minimal invasive biopsy. Although all patients developed severe cases, steroids yielded favourable outcomes.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that haematological malignancies may be a cause of OP and that minimal invasive biopsy may be an effective and safe method to confirm the diagnosis. Although OP associated with haematological malignancies may more frequently develop into severe cases, the OP lesions were steroid-responsive during follow-up.

Lenalidomide-induced eosinophilic pneumonia

Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell dyscrasia accounting for 10% of haematologic malignancies. Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug analogous to thalidomide that is approved for use in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, and in combination with dexamethasone for refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma. Lenalidomide is preferred to thalidomide because of reduced toxicity, and pulmonary side effects are considered rare. We present, to our knowledge, an unusual and first reported case of a patient with relapsed multiple myeloma who received lenalidomide after autologous stem cell transplant, then developed eosinophilic pneumonia presenting as dyspnoea, peripheral eosinophilia, and bilateral pulmonary opacities. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage was negative for infection, and transbronchial lung biopsies showed eosinophilic pneumonia. After discontinuation of lenalidomide and initiation of prednisone therapy, his dyspnoea improved and eosinophilia resolved; however, symptoms recurred when the drug was restarted at a lower dose, confirming its causative role. In the absence of infection, clinicians should always bear in mind drug toxicity in the differential diagnosis of patients receiving lenalidomide and related agents.

Guidelines for screening and management of late and long-term consequences of myeloma and its treatment

A growing population of long-term survivors of myeloma is now accumulating the 'late effects' not only of myeloma itself, but also of several lines of treatment given throughout the course of the disease. It is thus important to recognise the cumulative burden of the disease and treatment-related toxicity in both the stable and active phases of myeloma, some of which is unlikely to be detected by routine monitoring. We summarise here the evidence for the key late effects in long-term survivors of myeloma, including physical and psychosocial consequences (in Parts 1 and 2 respectively), and recommend the use of late-effects screening protocols in detection and intervention. The early recognition of late effects and effective management strategies should lead to an improvement in the management of myeloma patients, although evidence in this area is currently limited and further research is warranted.

Lenalidomide Induced Late-Onset Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

A 77-year-old man with multiple myeloma (MM) presented with shortness of breath to the emergency department. He also had history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic pulmonary embolism and nephrectomy due to malignancy 10 years ago. He had been treated for 9 months with lenalidomide because of MM. He diagnosed with adult respiratory distress syndrome due to lenalidomide. We aimed to demonstrate late onset and destructive effects of lenalidomide on the lungs.