Dermatologic side effects of systemic targeted anticancer therapy

Skin, hair, and nails are almost always modified by systemic cancer therapies. These changes can sometimes result in severe adverse events, but most of the patients present with light and moderate skin side effects. Nevertheless, these dermatologic manifestations can significantly impact patients' quality of life, especially in the case of new targeted agents that are sometimes prescribed continuously over long periods of time. Patients have to be informed in advance about the skin symptoms that might occur during the course of their treatments. Preventive and symptomatic measures can be advised or prescribed that might optimize treatment compliance and improve quality of life. Close interaction between oncologists and dermatologist is warranted in order to describe, characterize, and manage the numerous and sometimes new and original skin manifestations of new cancer therapies. In this chapter, we will focus on the side effects associated with targeted anticancer agents since oncologists and physicians are less informed about this field than they are about skin side effects of classical chemotherapeutic agents.