A Case of Nasopharyngeal Cancer with Febrile Neutropenia Followed by Death during Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy-related death can occur, but is rarely experienced in the case of head and neck cancer. In this report, we present the case of a 55-year-old male who died of a severe febrile neutropenia during adjuvant chemotherapy. He was initially diagnosed as having nasopharyngeal carcinoma (cT2N0M0), and concurrent chemoradiotherapy was used as a primary treatment. He did not show any critical side effects during that therapy. After residual disease was proven by biopsy, docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) therapy was introduced as adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient developed a high fever with a decreased neutrophil count on day 8, and went into a state of shock on day 9. He underwent immediate systemic management, but methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia and enteritis were uncontrolled, resulting in death on day 43. The autopsy findings suggested that the main cause of death was acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection was also noted in multiple organs. . Since it is assumed from literature that the mortality rate in TPF therapy is about 2-4%, it was considered that prior sufficient explanations and informed consent should be required before this therapy.