However, chemotherapy treatment is essential to remove malignant tumors and thus achieve healing. To reverse and control the adverse effects of nausea and vomiting caused by the chemotherapy, science has developed substances called antiemetic can minimize or even eliminate these side effects.

During the 41st annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO, by its initials in English) held in Orlando, Florida, Professor Matti S. Aapro, Director of the Multidisciplinary Oncology Institute in Genolier, Switzerland, presented data from an epidemiological study entitled Comparison of aprepitant combination regimen with 4-day ondansetron + 4-day dexamethasone for prevention of acute and delayed nausea / vomiting after cisplatin chemotherapy. The study results showed that treatment with aprepitant (Emend) is superior to the scheme of several days with ondansetron and dexamethasone to prevent nausea and vomiting induced by highly emetogenic chemotherapy (nausea and frequent vomiting).

In that study, the drug regimen performed better than the treatment of several days only with others, both in the acute phase and in the late after chemotherapy with high dose cisplatin.

“This study demonstrates the clinical benefit of the scheme with aprepitant (Emend) in the full cycle of treatment in both acute and delayed phase in patients treated with cisplatin. Clinical studies like this reinforce the new parameters of antiemetic treatment guidelines as recommended by the Multinational Association for Supportive Care Cancer (MASCC), “said Professor Matti Aapro, also President of the MASCC.

This multinational, randomized, double-blind study, evaluated 484 patients undergoing chemotherapy and analyzed the complete response rates-defined as no vomiting and no rescue medication use, in the acute phase (from 0 to 1 days ), late (2 to 5 days) and globally (1 to 5 days) as the first line antiemetic therapy in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Before selecting the most appropriate antiemetic for each patient, it is important to know that all chemotherapy drugs act differently and may have several side effects. The most important thing a patient can do to reduce the occurrence of nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy is to talk with your medical oncologist about antiemetics that have been prescribed and they have given satisfaction.