Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology
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Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol · Dec 2009
ReviewPrevention of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting: a focus on aprepitant.
Nausea and vomiting is one of the most feared side effects of chemotherapy; however, in the past 20 years, a better understanding of the pathophysiology of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) has led to the introduction of newer antiemetics, which have improved the management of this side effect. ⋯ Aprepitant has a significant role in the management of CINV, as it allows the majority of patients to complete their chemotherapies without significant morbidity. Its use in a variety of clinical settings in cancer patients needs to be further explored.
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Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol · Dec 2009
ReviewPalonosetron: a second generation 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 receptor antagonist.
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is associated with a significant deterioration in quality of life. The emetogenicity of the chemotherapeutic agents, repeated chemotherapy cycles and patient characteristics (female gender, younger age, low alcohol consumption, history of motion sickness) are the major risk factors for CINV. ⋯ Palonosetron has a longer half-life and a higher binding affinity than the first generation 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. Palonosetron has been approved for the prevention of acute CINV in patients receiving either moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy and for the prevention of delayed CINV in patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. In recent studies, compared to the first generation 5-HT3 receptor antagonists, palonosetron in combination with dexamethasone demonstrated better control of delayed CINV in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy. There were no clinically relevant adverse reactions reported in the palonosetron clinical trials that were different from the common reactions reported for the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist class. Due to its efficacy in controlling both acute and delayed CINV, palonosetron may be very effective in the clinical setting of multiple-day chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.