Prevention of Erlotinib-Induced Folliculitis With Doxycycline

Deplanque et al. (2016) investigated the use of doxycycline to prevent erlotinib-induced folliculitis in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Erlotinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was used as a second-line treatment for advanced NSCLC and as a first-line treatment for patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC. While generally well tolerated, erlotinib often caused skin toxicities, including folliculitis, which could affect patient compliance and lead to treatment modifications. The study involved randomizing patients into two groups to assess the effectiveness of doxycycline in preventing these skin-related side effects.