Eribulin and Confusion: A Previously Unknown Drug Side-Effect

Abu Baker Sheikh; Abhilash Perisetti; Nismat Javed; Rahul Shekhar

doi:10.12890/2020_001708

Eribulin and Confusion: A Previously Unknown Drug Side-Effect

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2020 Jun 9;7(9):001708. doi: 10.12890/2020_001708. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Abu Baker Sheikh¹, Abhilash Perisetti², Nismat Javed³, Rahul Shekhar¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
² Department of Gastroenterology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Abstract

Eribulin is an antineoplastic agent used in advanced breast cancer refractory to anthracycline and taxane treatment regimens. A wide variety of side effects with unclear mechanisms have been noted, but encephalopathy has not been widely reported. Here we describe the case of a middle-aged woman treated with eribulin for advanced breast cancer who subsequently developed central nervous system drug-induced toxicity but improved promptly with steroid administration.

Learning points: Eribulin-induced encephalopathy is a diagnosis of exclusion and should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients treated with eribulin and presenting with altered mental status.Eribulin can cross the blood-brain barrier.Steroids and drug cessation should be the mainstay of treatment in cases of eribulin-induced encephalopathy.

Keywords: Eribulin; breast cancer; encephalopathy.