Prevention of erlotinib-induced folliculitis with doxycycline

Deplanque et al. (2016) reported their experience after doxycycline administration in the prevention of erlotinib-induced folliculitis in patients affected by non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The oral epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib, is a second-line monotherapy for advanced NSCLC in patients with disease progression after first-line platinum-based therapy, recently approved also as first-line treatment for patients with EGFR mutationpositive NSCLC. Erlotinib is generally well tolerated. The most common side effects include skin toxicity, such as rash (folliculitis or acneiform rash/papulopustular eruption), xerosis, paronychia, pruritus, hair growth, and ocular disorders. Cutaneous adverse events may prejudice patient compliance, leading to dose reduction, treatment delay, or withdrawal. The authors randomized patients into two groups