Title:Gemcitabine-Related Atrial Fibrillation: A Case Report and Review of the
Literature
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Author(s): Ichrak B. Abdallah*, Sonia Ben Nasr, Chadia Chourabi, Aref Zribi, Mehdi Balti, Wafa Fehri and Abderrazek Haddaoui
Affiliation:
- Department of Medical Oncology Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University Tunis El-Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
Keywords:
Gemcitabine, arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, antimetabolites, chemotherapy, cisplatin.
Abstract:
Introduction: Gemcitabine is a commonly used antimetabolite that has been effective in
a broad spec- trum of tumors so far. The main grade three and four known toxicity of this drug is
myelosuppres- sion. Cardiac adverse events have been rarely reported and gemcitabine-induced
Atrial-Fibrillation (AF) has been described in only five previous cases so far. Here we report the 6th
case of gemc- itabine-related AF.
Case Presentation: A 68-year-old man diagnosed with metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer was referred
to our oncology department. He started first-line chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin.
He presented poorly tolerated atrial fibrillation related to gemcitabine infusion that lasted
for six days. The treatment was then withdrawn, and the patient received the best supportive care.
Conclusion: We conclude that medical oncologists and cardiologists should be aware of such toxicities
of gemc- itabine, especially in the elderly who seem to be at a higher risk of such adverse
events and which may dictate discontinuation of the drug.
