A Case of Severe Pneumocystis Pneumonia in a Thyroid Cancer Patient Receiving Lenvatinib

ABSTRACT

Lenvatinib is a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for use in patients with iodine-131–refractory thyroid cancer. The common adverse events of lenvatinib include hypertension, proteinuria, fatigue, and diarrhea. To date, no report on Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in patients receiving lenvatinib has been published. Here, we present a case of severe PCP that led to the death of a 79-year-old woman who was diagnosed with poorly differentiated thyroid cancer and received lenvatinib. The development of PCP should be considered when patients taking lenvatinib show clinical symptoms of pneumonia, and regular chest X-ray follow-up is needed for patients receiving lenvatinib.