Organizing pneumonia after pancreatic cancer treatment with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine: a case report

The incidence of pancreatic cancer is increasing. Most patients have advanced disease at diagnosis, and therapeutics is limited in this setting. Gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel combination is indicated as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic cancer of pancreas. The most common adverse events of Grade 3 or higher gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel combination are neutropenia, fatigue and neuropathy. In this report, we describe a rare case of organizing pneumonia associated with the use of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in metastatic pancreatic cancer. A 68-year-old female underwent total splenopancreatectomy for ductal adenocarcinoma of the neck of the pancreas, followed by adjuvant chemoradiation therapy. Afterwards she relapsed and received first-line chemotherapy with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel combination for 12 cycles. Following the administration of the 12th cycle of gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel, the patient experienced low-grade pyrexia, effort dyspnoea, persistent non-productive cough and malaise. High-resolution CT scan of chest revealed new-onset bilateral peripheral ground-glass opacities, smooth interlobular septal thickening and patchy subpleural consolidation areas, findings consistent with organizing pneumonia. A thorough microbiological workup was negative. Treatment with steroids resulted in prompt clinical and radiological improvement. Organizing pneumonia closely mimics infection or progressive disease and can be difficult to diagnose in the setting of malignancy. Correct diagnosis is of primary importance since delay in treatment can result in significantly adverse patient outcomes.