Tamoxifen-Induced Cutaneous Vasculitis—A Rare Case Report with Review of Literature

Abstract

Abstract Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator and forms the mainstay of endocrine therapy in premenopausal women with breast cancer in both adjuvant and metastatic setting. Common adverse effects are menopausal symptoms with venous thrombosis and endometrial carcinoma being rarer but more sinister complications. Vasculitis is a rarely reported reaction to tamoxifen. We report a case of a 38-year-old woman with locally advanced breast cancer, who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by modified radical mastectomy and adjuvant paclitaxel. She was on maintenance tamoxifen and leuprolide for 3 months, when she presented with pruritic bilateral maculopapular rash over all her limbs, legs more than hands. A skin biopsy from the left lower limb confirmed the diagnosis of vasculitis. Tamoxifen was stopped, and patient was switched to letrozole and leuprolide. She was given antihistamines, antibiotics, fusidic acid, vitamin C, and topical steroids. The lesions resolved completely in 1 month after stoppage of tamoxifen. We report this rare side effect of tamoxifen so that oncologists can effectively diagnose and treat this distressing but reversible condition.