Rare but Severe Lung Inflammation Linked to BC Drugs

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edited October 2019 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

FDA Warns About Rare but Severe Lung Inflammation Linked to Breast Cancer Drugs Ibrance, Kisqali, and Verzenio
September 17, 2019
On Sept. 13, 2019, the FDA released a statement warning about a link between rare but severe lung inflammation and the three CDK4/6 inhibitors used to treat advanced-stage hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Read more...

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  • LoveFromPhilly
    LoveFromPhilly Member Posts: 1,308
    edited September 2019

    Oy vey!!

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited September 2019

    I’m going to focus on the word rare

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  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 1,632
    edited September 2019

    Well, I may be one of the rare ones. My scans this year have demonstrated increasing cloudiness in both lungs 'not characteristic of metastases'. In March, the radiologist thought there might have been infection or inflammation (I had not been sick) and suggested a 2 month follow-up in order to confirm resolution. In May, it was still present so reimaging in late summer was the recommendation. No symptoms like cough, SOB, etc have appeared...

    CT with contrast last week showed continued areas of concern so I have a pulmonary consult pending.

    Ironic that, as I approach the one year anniversary of starting Verzenio, this complication comes up. Tumor marker level was at an all time low recently: under 60 which represents half the value assessed at diagnosis. My oncologist is thinking of having me go off this med but, since other potential treatments are also linked to drug induced ILD, I don't know yet what options we’ll consider pursuing until more is known.

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  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 1,632
    edited October 2019

    Bringing this topic back up to the first page since one of the pulmonologists I consulted thinks the incidence of interstitial lung disease from this class is much higher than suggested. She feels it could be 20% and develops after some kind of infection, not necessarily respiratory.

    Her theory involves the immune system getting confused after fighting off the causative agent, whether bacteria or virus, then allowing the CDK 4/6 inhibitor to begin an attack on healthy tissue. The solution is to be viligant, get the flu shot, wash your hands frequently, etc.

    Since my white cells are also low from treatment, I may attempt to avoid crowds. I already send my hubby on errands to the grocery and other stores but we might consider getting home delivery. I feel safer going to the gym for exercise classes because people who are sick don't go there to work out. What else can a person do?

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