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Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: State of the Art in 2006
The West Clinic and The University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) remains a significant detriment to patient quality of life and a major impediment to successful delivery of chemotherapy. CINV is generally categorized in three phases: acute (0–24 hours post treatment), delayed (24–120 hours post treatment), and anticipatory. Two agents represents an important step forward in the clinician’s ability to control CINV. Palonosetron, a serotonin-receptor antagonist, and aprepitant, a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist, have both shown efficacy in combating emesis in the acute and delayed phases; since these two agents are of different drug classes, there is the potential for augmented antiemetic efficacy when the two are used together, as shown in a recent phase III trial. Challenges remain in the prevention of CINV, such as improved detection, the development of clinically useful assessment tools, and the revision of treatment guidelines.
| J Support Oncol 2006;4(suppl 1):3–8 | full text |  208 kb |