Anlotinib helps alleviate radiation pneumonitis: A case report

Abstract

Abstract Radiation pneumonitis is a serious side effect of thoracic radiotherapy with no established treatment currently. Anlotinib is a small‐molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with anti‐angiogenic effects. The effect of TKIs in the treatment of radiation pneumonitis remains to be elucidated. We investigated whether anlotinib could alleviate radiation pneumonitis. We report a case of a patient with esophageal cancer who received anlotinib for radiation pneumonitis following radiotherapy. We also reviewed related studies to address this issue. The results in this patient suggest that anlotinib may be a valid treatment option for radiation pneumonitis.

Keywords

• anlotinib
• esophageal cancer
• radiation‐induced lung injury
• tyrosine kinase inhibitors