Correspondence

More on Skin Cancer after the Extravasation of Doxorubicin

N Engl J Med 1995; 333:257July 27, 1995

Article

To the Editor:

On reading in the report of skin cancer occurring in a patient 10 years after the extravasation of doxorubicin (March 16 issue)1 that “repeated contact with polycyclic carbohydrates” is a risk factor for cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma, I became alarmed. Did Lauvin et al. intend in their use of the term “polycyclic carbohydrates” to include the common polysaccharides cellulose, starch, and pectin, or did they mean to use the term “cyclic, or aromatic, hydrocarbons”?2 After consulting a chemical dictionary, I decided this particular usage of the term “polycyclic carbohydrates” constituted neither a new nor an old definition, but rather represented a well-intentioned effort to describe a potential problem resulting from an exaggerated exposure to coal tar.3

H.I. Silverman, D.Sc.
Bascomb Foundation, Framingham, MA 01701

3 References

1. 1

   Lauvin R, Miglianico L, Hellegouarc'h R. Skin cancer occurring 10 years after the extravasation of doxorubicin. N Engl J Med 1995;332:754-754
   Full Text | Web of Science | Medline

2. 2

   Noller CR. Chemistry of organic compounds. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1957:396.
   

3. 3

   Hawley GG, ed. Condensed chemical dictionary. 8th ed. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1971:646.
   

Author/Editor Response

Dr. Lauvin replies:

To the Editor: I agree with Dr. Silverman. It seems better to say “aromatic hydrocarbons” than “polycyclic carbohydrates.”

Richard Lauvin, M.D.
Centre Regional de Nutrition et de Diététique, 35044 Rennes, France