Biomaterial Database

Mitotane-induced dyspnoea: an unusual side effect. 2018

Ali U Farooq, and Waseem Amjad, and Tanureet Kochar, and Subash Adhikari

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

Mitotane is a cytostatic antineoplastic agent that is used in the treatment of adrenocortical carcinoma and Cushing's syndrome. The commonly reported side effects associated with mitotane are anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, decreased memory, rash, gynaecomastia, arthralgias and leucopenia. We present a case of a 68-year-old female who developed gradual dyspnoea concurrent with the use of mitotane for the treatment of adrenocortical carcinoma. To the best of our knowledge and literate review, this is the first reported case of dyspnoea associated with the use of this medication. The purpose of this case report is to raise awareness about this uncommon adverse effect of mitotane that may have gone unrecognised on postmarketing surveillance because of under-reporting, lack of case follow-up or other comorbidities masking shortness of breath.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008939	Mitotane	A derivative of the insecticide DICHLORODIPHENYLDICHLOROETHANE that specifically inhibits cells of the adrenal cortex and their production of hormones. It is used to treat adrenocortical tumors and causes CNS damage, but no bone marrow depression.	o,p-DDD,ortho,para-DDD,Chloditan,Chlodithane,Khloditan,Lysodren,Mytotan,ortho,para DDD
D003937	Diagnosis, Differential	Determination of which one of two or more diseases or conditions a patient is suffering from by systematically comparing and contrasting results of diagnostic measures.	Diagnoses, Differential,Differential Diagnoses,Differential Diagnosis
D004417	Dyspnea	Difficult or labored breathing.	Orthopnea,Platypnea,Recumbent Dyspnea,Rest Dyspnea,Trepopnea,Breathlessness,Shortness of Breath,Breath Shortness,Dyspnea, Recumbent,Dyspnea, Rest,Dyspneas, Rest
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000306	Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms	Tumors or cancers of the ADRENAL CORTEX.	Adrenocortical Cancer,Cancer of Adrenal Cortex,Adrenal Cortex Cancer,Cancer of the Adrenal Cortex,Neoplasms, Adrenal Cortex,Adrenal Cortex Cancers,Adrenal Cortex Neoplasm,Adrenocortical Cancers,Cancer, Adrenal Cortex,Cancer, Adrenocortical,Cancers, Adrenal Cortex,Cancers, Adrenocortical,Neoplasm, Adrenal Cortex
D000368	Aged	A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available.	Elderly
D018268	Adrenocortical Carcinoma	A malignant neoplasm of the ADRENAL CORTEX. Adrenocortical carcinomas are unencapsulated anaplastic (ANAPLASIA) masses sometimes exceeding 20 cm or 200 g. They are more likely to be functional than nonfunctional, and produce ADRENAL CORTEX HORMONES that may result in hypercortisolism (CUSHING SYNDROME); HYPERALDOSTERONISM; and/or VIRILISM.	Carcinoma, Adrenal Cortical,Carcinoma, Adrenocortical,Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma,Adrenal Cortical Carcinomas,Adrenocortical Carcinomas,Carcinomas, Adrenal Cortical,Carcinomas, Adrenocortical
D018931	Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal	Antineoplastic agents that are used to treat hormone-sensitive tumors. Hormone-sensitive tumors may be hormone-dependent, hormone-responsive, or both. A hormone-dependent tumor regresses on removal of the hormonal stimulus, by surgery or pharmacological block. Hormone-responsive tumors may regress when pharmacologic amounts of hormones are administered regardless of whether previous signs of hormone sensitivity were observed. The major hormone-responsive cancers include carcinomas of the breast, prostate, and endometrium; lymphomas; and certain leukemias. (From AMA Drug Evaluations Annual 1994, p2079)	Hormonal Antineoplastic Agents,Antineoplastic Drugs, Hormonal,Antineoplastic Hormonal Agents,Antineoplastic Hormonal Drugs,Antineoplastics, Hormonal,Hormonal Agents, Antineoplastic,Hormonal Antineoplastic Drugs,Hormonal Antineoplastics,Agents, Antineoplastic Hormonal,Drugs, Antineoplastic Hormonal,Hormonal Drugs, Antineoplastic
D064420	Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions	Disorders that result from the intended use of PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. Included in this heading are a broad variety of chemically-induced adverse conditions due to toxicity, DRUG INTERACTIONS, and metabolic effects of pharmaceuticals.	Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reaction,Adverse Drug Event,Adverse Drug Reaction,Drug Side Effects,Drug Toxicity,Side Effects of Drugs,Toxicity, Drug,Adverse Drug Events,Adverse Drug Reactions,Drug Event, Adverse,Drug Events, Adverse,Drug Reaction, Adverse,Drug Reactions, Adverse,Drug Related Side Effects and Adverse Reaction,Drug Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions,Drug Side Effect,Drug Toxicities,Effects, Drug Side,Reactions, Adverse Drug,Side Effect, Drug,Side Effects, Drug,Toxicities, Drug