Tropisetron in the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting over six courses of emetogenic chemotherapy

• Published in: Anti-cancer drugs Vol. 9; no. 9; p. 773
• Main Authors: Bleiberg, H, Hulstaert, F, Buyse, M, De Keyser, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.10.1998
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antiemetics - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Agents - adverse effects; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - adverse effects; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Humans; Indoles - therapeutic use; Male; Middle Aged; Nausea - chemically induced; Nausea - prevention & control; Neoplasms - complications; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Prospective Studies; Serotonin Antagonists - therapeutic use; Vomiting - chemically induced; Vomiting - prevention & control
• ISSN: 0959-4973
• DOI: 10.1097/00001813-199810000-00005

Tropisetron (Navoban") suppresses nausea and vomiting induced by cancer chemotherapy by antagonizing central and peripheral 5-HT3 receptors. In this open-label study, tropisetron was evaluated in 873 patients who were either refractory to antiemetic treatment during previous chemotherapy or at high risk of emesis as a result of current chemotherapy. The most commonly used agents alone or in combination were cyclophosphamide (35%), fluorouracil (30%), carboplatin (24%) and cisplatin (21%). The primary tumors were breast cancer (27%), lung cancer (16%), gynecological cancers (12%) and lymphoma (9%). Tropisetron was administered as a 15 min infusion prior to chemotherapy and an additional oral 5 mg dose was taken by 80% of the patients on subsequent days. During course 1, complete response to tropisetron was obtained in 64% of patients on day 1, 54% on day 2, 63% on day 3, 71% on day 4 and 77% on day 5. Very similar response rates were found for the six chemotherapy courses. There were few failures after complete and partial response, at maximum 3 and 15%, respectively. Moreover, 24-38% of those with partial response and 7-29% of those with failure could achieve a complete response during the following cycle. The treatment was well tolerated, the most frequently reported adverse events being constipation (3.7%) and headache (2.6%).