Hypersensitivity pneumonitis associated with temozolomide.

In the March 2009 edition of the European Respiratory Journal, KOSCHEL et al. [1] reported the case of a 54-yr-old female presenting with pneumonia associated with the use of temozolomide and whose clinical and radiographic presentation and anatomo–pathological signs were consistent with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. During the phase II trials preceding the marketing of this alkylating agent, which is a derivative of dacarbazine, interstitial pneumonias were described, but with no details of their mechanism [2, 3]. A case of temozolomide-associated organising pneumonitis has also been published [4].