Crescentic glomerulonephritis in a patient with advanced lung cancer during erlotinib therapy

Abstract

Sir, Erlotinib (Tarceva®), an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been shown to improve survival of previously treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [1]. The common adverse effects of this agent include diarrhoea and anorexia [1], which may cause severe dehydration and renal failure, although their incidence has been low [2]. Here, we report a case of pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis (CrGN) and acute renal failure in a patient with advanced NSCLC treated with erlotinib.