Cisplatin - Side Effects

Side Effects

Cisplatin has a number of side-effects that can limit its use:

• Nephrotoxicity (kidney damage) is a major concern. The dose is reduced when the patient's creatinine clearance (a measure of renal function) is reduced. Adequate hydration and diuresis is used to prevent renal damage. The nephrotoxicity of platinum-class drugs seems to be related to reactive oxygen species and in animal models can be ameliorated by free radical scavenging agents (e.g., amifostine). Nephrotoxicity is a dose-limiting side effect.
• Neurotoxicity (nerve damage) can be anticipated by performing nerve conduction studies before and after treatment.
• Nausea and vomiting: cisplatin is one of the most emetogenic chemotherapy agents, but this symptom is managed with prophylactic antiemetics (ondansetron, granisetron, etc.) in combination with corticosteroids. Aprepitant combined with ondansetron and dexamethasone has been shown to be better for highly emetogenic chemotherapy than just ondansetron and dexamethasone.
• Ototoxicity (hearing loss): unfortunately there is at present no effective treatment to prevent this side effect, which may be severe. Audiometric analysis may be necessary to assess the severity of ototoxicity. Other drugs (such as the aminoglycoside antibiotic class) may also cause ototoxicity, and the administration of this class of antibiotics in patients receiving cisplatin is generally avoided. The ototoxicity of both the aminoglycosides and cisplatin may be related to their ability to bind to melanin in the stria vascularis of the inner ear or the generation of reactive oxygen species.
• Electrolyte disturbance: Cisplatin can cause hypomagnesaemia, hypokalaemia and hypocalcaemia. The hypocalcaemia seems to occur in those with low serum magnesium secondary to cisplatin, so it is not primarily due to the Cisplatin.
• Myelotoxicity: This agent can also cause profound bone marrow suppression.
• Hemolytic anemia can be developed after several courses of cisplatin. It is suggested that an antibody reacting with a cisplatin-red-cell membrane is responsible for hemolysis.

Approved for clinical use by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1978, it revolutionized the treatment of certain cancers. Detailed studies on its molecular mechanism of action, using a variety of spectroscopic methods including X-ray, NMR spectroscopy, and other physico-chemical methods, revealed its ability to form irreversible crosslinks with bases in DNA.