Drug-induced interstitial lung diseases associated with molecular-targeted anticancer agents.

Little was known about drug-induced interstitial lung disease (ILD) when acute ILD-type events developed in several Japanese patients treated with gefitinib. A better understanding of drug-induced ILD is required, including more reliable data about the incidence of events associated with different treatments and identification of the risk factors for this type of ILD. Recent advances in imaging, molecular examination, and pathology have been used in postmarketing surveillance studies designed and conducted by an independent academic team to define the risk and to increase the amount of evidence about ILD related to various molecularly targeted anticancer agents. These studies may shed light on the underlying mechanisms of drug-induced ILD and appropriate evidence-based strategies that can be used to prevent or manage these events.