Long-Term Doxorubicin Linked to Secondary Oral Cancers

".......Four patients who received long-term PLD for advanced-stage ovarian cancer developed malignant and/or premalignant lesions of the tongue and/or oral cavity. Dr. Cannon points out that there were only about 16 patients who received PLD for an extended period of time, "so 4 out of 16 patients is quite high."
All 4 of the patients had received maintenance therapy with PLD for at least 3 years. Of this group, 3 women were subsequently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue and/or oral cavity, and 1 patient was diagnosed with sublingual mucosa high-grade dysplasia. All 3 cases of SCCs were negative for human papillomavirus.

Of note, said Dr. Cannon, was a patient who presented with 3 separate lesions of SCC of the oral cavity.

"I don't think this is a coincidence, that 4 of 16 patients receiving this treatment developed oral cancers," he said. "If this treatment for ovarian cancer becomes more popular, then this is something that should become known. Early dental screening would need to be initiated, and the treatment may need to be stopped after a certain time period."

It is relatively uncommon for ovarian cancer patients to receive PLD for this length of time.......cont'd

also: see chart