Cutaneous adverse effects of imatinib mesylate in phototype VI patients treated for chronic myeloid leukemia: Experience from Dakar, Senegal about 60 patients

Abstract

Imatinib mesylate is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that targets BCR-ABL, c-kit, and PDGF receptors. It is a first line treatment in chronic myeloid leukemia in Senegal, while second line treatments are expensive in our practice. Adverse skin effects are generally well tolerated and the most common are edema, maculopapular rash or diverse eruptions (lichenoid eruptions, Steven-Johnson syndrome, hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation). Objectives: Our aim was to identify the cutaneous side effects in phototype VI Senegalese patients who received Imatinib mesylate for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. Methodology: We performed a descriptive study in population with dark complexion. The study was conducted in the Hematology unit of National Center of transfusion, in Dakar, Senegal. We included the patients who received imatinib mesylate (IM) for chronic myeloid leukemia from January 2008 to December 2017. We excluded those treated for another affection by IM. Socio-demographic, clinical, biological and therapeutic data were recorded by a structured questionnaire. We analysed data by software CS Pro 7.0 and to Stata 12.0 by EPi-info version. The Pearson Chi square test and the Fischer bilateral exact test were used to compare frequencies. If p