Lipid lowering treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia with acute pancreatitis caused by everolimus in a patient with a neuroendocrine tumor

Everolimus is an mTOR inhibitor, approved as a treatment for cancer and as an immunosuppressant agent in solid organ transplantation; it frequently produces toxic metabolic effects, particularly of the most severe kind. Its use can cause hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia; thus, metabolic values should be monitored regularly to prevent these adverse events. We present the case of a woman with an intestinal neuroendocrine tumor who developed two episodes of acute pancreatitis, secondary to severe hypertriglyceridemia caused by everolimus. After treatment with fibrates and omega-3, triglyceride levels returned to baseline, without developing new metabolic or digestive complications. Targeted levels of triglyceride for cancer patients treated with everolimus, should be below 500 or 300 mg/dL, depending on whether life expectancy is less or longer than one year, respectively.