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Background: High rates of posttreatment discomfort, infection, recurrence, and increased time to return to work have been noted after nail plate avulsion resulting from epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor(EGFR‐TKI)‐induced paronychia, which may even interrupt the course of treatment for EGFR‐TKI therapy. Thus, we conducted this study to determine how effectively a topical β‐blocker, betaxolol, prevents EGFR‐TKI‐induced paronychia. Methods: This case–control cohort study included a total of 131 non‐small‐cell lung cancer patients. The prevention group comprised 40 patients treated with topical betaxolol 0.25% solution to prevent paronychia while they received EGFR‐TKI therapy. The control group comprised 91 patients who did not preventively use topical betaxolol 0.25% solution while receiving EGFR‐TKI therapy. The patients' age, gender, antineoplastic regimen, duration of antineoplastic treatment before the appearance of lesions, number of involved digits (fingernails or toenails) with lesions, grading of paronychia, and pain score were recorded. Results: In terms of the cumulative incidence of paronychia, significant differences (P < 0.01) were noted at both the 2nd and 3rd months after starting EGFR‐TKIs. Furthermore, the average visual analogue scale scores were 3.125 and 6.29 in the prevention group and control group, respectively (P < 0.01). The average grades of paronychia were 1.5 and 2.12 in the prevention group and control group, respectively (P < 0.01). The average numbers of involved digits were 2.25 (range: 1–5 digits) in the prevention group and 3.03 (range: 1–7) in the control group (P = 0.07). Conclusions: Preventively using topical betaxolol can significantly decrease the incidence, VAS score, and grading of EGFR‐TKI‐induced paronychia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paronychia is a common adverse event caused by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors. However, high rates of post‐treatment discomfort, infection, recurrence, and increased time to return to work have been noted after nail plate avulsion for EGFR inhibitor‐induced paronychia. Furthermore, poor wound healing and malnutrition were common conditions found in cancer patients. The aim of this study is to find an effective, pain‐relieving, and noninvasive treatment for patients with severe paronychia induced by EGFR inhibitors. Methods: Data from a series of 35 non‐small cell lung cancer cases suffering from EGFR inhibitor‐induced paronychia with pyogenic granuloma‐like lesions of digits treated with betaxolol 0.25% ophthalmic solution once daily were collected and analyzed. Results: Of the 35 patients suffering from grade 2 or 3 paronychia with pyogenic granuloma‐like lesions induced by EGFR inhibitors, 34 (97.1%) demonstrated complete resolution and only one (2.9%) had partial resolution after 12 weeks of topical betaxolol treatment. The grading of paronychia according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events decreased from an average of 2.29 to 0.63 after 4 weeks of treatment (P = 5.55 × 10−16). All the patients had significant improvement (50% pain reduction), as their pain visual analogue scale scores decreased from an average of 7.06 to 2.26 after one week of treatment (P = 6.11 × 10−25). Conclusion: Betaxolol 0.25% ophthalmic solution is an effective, safe, and pain‐relieving treatment for patients suffering from EGFR inhibitor‐induced paronychia with pyogenic granuloma‐like lesions and deep fissures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]