Journal of palliative medicine
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Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is one of the most distressing side effects in systemic chemotherapies. Recently, several effective agents have been developed to prevent CINV, and CINV can be prevented in 70%-80% of patients receiving chemotherapies. Conversely, 20%-30% of patients still suffer from CINV despite recommended optimal antiemetic preventions. ⋯ Salvage treatments for refractory emesis are necessary, but there are few effective treatments at present. We consider medroxyprogesterone acetate to be a potentially promising agent for refractory emesis. We encountered three cases in which medroxyprogesterone acetate was extremely effective for refractory emesis induced by cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.