Gastrointestinal toxicity of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II). Personal observations

Gastrointestinal toxicity was studied in 45 patients receiving 207 cycles of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cisplatin). Thirty-one patients received cisplatin in single doses. In this group of patients the drug was given either by rapid infusion or by 2-hour or 3-hour infusion or by 24-hour infusion in doses of 50 mg/m² or less, 70-90 mg/m² or 100 mg/m². In 26 of the 31 patients the drug was used as a single agent. Fourteen additional patients received a daily dose of cisplatin of 20 mg/m² for five consecutive days. All patients in this group were given combination chemotherapy. With cisplatin alone, single small doses (≤ 50 mg/m²) induced less nausea and vomiting than single doses of 70 mg/m² or more (p2 and in 7 per cent of those treated with 90 mm/mg² or less. Slight and transient increases in transaminases were observed more often with the single large dose schedule (100 mg/m²) than with the single small dose schedule or the daily x5 regimen (p <0.05). In single small dose treatment these increases were observed in 4 out of 6 patients receiving a rapid infusion, in 1 out of 7 patients with a 2-hour or 3-hour infusion and in 1 out of 8 patients with a 24-hour infusion. The pattern of increase of serum amylase in 4 patients was similar to that found for transaminases.