Pulmonary Effects of Antineoplastic Therapy

Pulmonary toxicity is common after cancer therapy and can result from all therapeutic modalities. The consequential decrease in lung function ranges in severity from subclinical to life-threatening or even fatal and can manifest in the acute setting or many years after completion of therapy. Radiation effects are due to direct insult to the pulmonary parenchyma and, for younger children, impaired thoracic musculoskeletal development. Radiation pneumonitis can occur in the acute/subacute setting, as well as fibrosis with comprised gas exchange as a late effect of direct lung irradiation; thoracic wall malformation can cause restriction of function as a chronic sequela. The pulmonary effects of cytotoxic drugs usually present as acute effects, but there is the potential for significant late morbidity and mortality. Of course, surgical interventions can also cause both acute and/or late pulmonary effects as well, depending on the specific procedure. Although treatment approaches for the management of pediatric cancers are continually adapted to provide optimal therapy while minimizing toxicities, to a varying degree all therapies have the potential for both acute and late pulmonary toxicity. Of note, the cumulative incidence of pulmonary complications rises with increasing time since diagnosis, which suggests that adult survivors of childhood cancer require lifelong monitoring and management of potential new-onset pulmonary morbidity as they age. Knowledge of cytotoxic therapies and an understanding of lung physiology and how it may be altered by therapy facilitate appropriate clinical care and monitoring of long-term survivors.