Oxaliplatin-related side effects: characteristics and management

Oxaliplatin is the only third-generation platinum derivative to have found a place in routine cancer therapy. It is particularly useful therapy for advanced colorectal cancer and has shown scheduling flexibility in combination with 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid. Oxaliplatin has a unique pattern of side effects unrelated to those observed with other therapeutic platinum derivatives. During the course of oxaliplatin clinical trials, the adverse events most often cited were hematologic toxicity, gastrointestinal tract toxicity, and a neurolopathy unlike that observed with other platinum derivatives. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 41.7% of patients in the phase III clinical trial that used the FOLFOX-4 regimen, and thrombocytopenia is a rare event sometimes observed after multiple cycles of therapy. Nausea and vomiting is usually mild to moderate and readily controlled with standard antiemetics. Grade 1/2 diarrhea may occur but studies have shown that 5-fluorouracil contributes significantly more to gastrointestinal toxicity than does single-agent oxaliplatin. Nephrotoxicity has not been reported in any of the oxaliplatin trials, allowing administration of oxaliplatin without hydration. Oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity consists of a rapid-onset acute sensory neuropathy and a late-onset cumulative sensory neuropathy that occurs after several cycles of therapy. In about three fourths of patients, neurotoxicity is reversible with a median time to recovery of 13 weeks after treatment discontinuation. To date, oxaliplatin has proven to be a safe and effective therapy for colorectal cancer and side effects have been easy to manage with appropriate awareness from patients and care providers.