A review of deferasirox, bortezomib, dasatinib, and cyclosporine eye drops: possible uses and known side effects in cutaneous medicine.

Recently, a number of medications approved for nondermatologic use have proved useful against dermatologic diseases. This article reviews the dermatologic uses and effects of deferasirox, bortezomib, dasatinib, and cyclosporine eye drops. Deferasirox--an oral iron chelator--could be an effective treatment against porphyria cutanea tarda, hemochromatosis, and pathogens such as mucor that thrive in iron rich environments. Bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor and multiple myeloma treatment, may be effective against nodular amyloid and has been effectively used against squamous cell carcinoma; although trials demonstrate it is ineffective against metastatic melanoma. Bortezomib has many cutaneous side effects including erythematous plaques or nodules, a generalized morbilliform erythema with ulcerations and fever, purpuric eruptions, leukocytoclastic vasculitis, Sweet's syndrome, and folliculitis. Dasatinib is a multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor active in vitro against most cell lines containing BCR-ABL mutations that confer resistance to imatinib. Dasatinib is likely to be effective against dermatofibroma sarcoma protuberans and cutaneous acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and has caused panniculitis. Cyclosporine 0.05% ocular emulsion (eye drops) are approved to treat dry eyes including dry eyes caused by collagen vascular disease. Cyclosporine eye drops might also have utility in treating eye pathology of ocular rosacea, atopic keratoconjunctivitis, graft versus host disease, herpes keratitis, chronic sarcoidosis of the conjunctiva, conjunctival manifestations of actinic prurigo, keratitis of keratitis-ichthyosis deafness (KID) syndrome, and lichen planus-related kerato-conjunctivitis. This article speculates that cyclosporine eye drops would also be useful for any disease causing ectropion or eclabion of the eye as well as toxic epidermal necrolysis-related eye pathology (in particular corneal scarring).