aprepitant and Lymphoma

Chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting (CINV) is a major problem for patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) conditioning before stem cell transplantation (SCT), both during chemotherapy and afterwards (delayed nausea/vomiting). The standard of care (5-HT3 antagonist and dexamethasone) appears to be ineffective against delayed nausea and vomiting. The objective of this study was to compare standard antiemetic treatment with standard treatment plus prolonged treatment with aprepitant (Emend®) until 7 days after the end of chemotherapy in patients treated with HDCT before autologous SCT. Ninety-six patients were randomized to the experiment (EXP) group receiving Emend in addition to standard antiemetics or to the control (CTR) group receiving placebo. Emend or placebo treatment started 1 h before the first HDCT dose for SCT and ended 7 days after HDCT. Thirty-eight patients in the EXP group experienced complete response (no vomiting) compared to 16 patients in the CTR group. There was a significant difference between the EXP (0.63 ± 2.71) and the CTR (3.72 ± 4.91) group during 10 days after the end of HDCT (p = 0.001) with regard to the number of vomiting episodes. No difference with regard to days of nausea or in the use of antiemetic rescue was noted between the groups. We conclude that standard antiemetic treatment can be improved by addition of aprepitant continued for 7 days after the end of chemotherapy.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antiemetics; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Aprepitant; Dexamethasone; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Lymphoma; Male; Middle Aged; Morpholines; Multiple Myeloma; Nausea; Serotonin 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists; Stem Cell Transplantation; Treatment Outcome; Vomiting

Aprepitant (Apr) is an effective antiemetic agent for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Current CINV guidelines recommend the antiemetic combination of a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, Apr, and dexamethasone (Dex) for highly emetogenic chemotherapies. Apr inhibits CYP3A4 dose-dependently. Since Dex is metabolized by CYP3A4, the combined use of Apr and Dex inhibits Dex metabolism. CINV guidelines therefore recommend dose-reduction of Dex when Apr and Dex are used together. However, there is some controversy over whether or not Dex should be reduced when administered as an antitumor agent for lymphoid malignancies. We retrospectively compared the antitumor effect of Dex-containing chemotherapy in which Dex is administered at the usual dose without Apr (group A) or administered at a half-dose in combination with Apr (group B). We analyzed 62 consecutive patients with refractory or relapsed CD20 + B cell lymphoma who received R-DHAP therapy in our hospital, including 29 and 33 cases in groups A and B, respectively. The response rate at the end of the first course of R-DHAP was 62.1% and 54.5%, respectively (P = 0.61). As another endpoint to evaluate the effect of Dex, group B tended to show greater suppression of the lymphocyte count (P = 0.05). Therefore, decreasing the dose of Dex by half appeared to be reasonable when combined with Apr.

Topics: Antiemetics; Antineoplastic Agents; Aprepitant; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A; Dexamethasone; Humans; Lymphoma; Nausea; Retrospective Studies; Vomiting

The current standard for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting in autologous stem cell transplant only achieves 4-20% emetic control.. To assess emetic responses to multiday palonosetron, aprepitant, and low-dose dexamethasone among patients with myeloma and lymphoma undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant.. Oral aprepitant 125/80/80 mg was administered with intravenous dexamethasone 4 mg and palonosetron 0.25 mg on days -3, -2, -1 for multiple myeloma and days -7 through -3 for lymphoma. Palonosetron was repeated day +3 in both groups.. A total of 20 patients were enrolled and 18 analyzed. None experienced emetic failure with complete control achieved in 78, 33, and 17% in the acute, delayed, and extended phases, respectively. Nausea occurred in 78% although not significant in 61%, with median Nausea Visual Score of 4.5. Quality of life correlated with emetic and nausea control. Eight patients developed grade 2-3 nonhematologic toxicities with only one event attributed to the study medications.. This triplet regimen was feasible with acceptable safety profile in the autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant setting. Emetic control was best achieved in the acute phase. Lesser degree of emetic and nausea control in the delayed and extended phases impacted quality of life. Our results warrant further evaluation in a larger autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant population.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antiemetics; Aprepitant; Dexamethasone; Female; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Humans; Isoquinolines; Lymphoma; Male; Middle Aged; Morpholines; Multiple Myeloma; Nausea; Palonosetron; Pilot Projects; Quality of Life; Quinuclidines; Transplantation, Autologous; Vomiting