[Antiemetic Therapy for Vomiting and Nausea Related to Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy Using Cisplatin in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma].

Combination therapy using multiple antiemetic drugs is recommended for intravenous administration of cisplatin, a highly emetogenic agent, whereas a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist alone is commonly used in hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy using cisplatin for hepatocellular carcinoma owing to its less toxicity than that in the intravenous administration. Given that optimal antiemetic therapy is not yet established, we retrospectively investigated the efficacy of antiemetic drugs for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy using cisplatin. This study enrolled 72 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who received hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy using cisplatin at Kurashiki Central Hospital between January 2011 and May 2019. A 5-HT3 receptor antagonist was used in all cases, while aprepitant and/or dexamethasone were used concomitantly in 6 cases. After chemotherapy, a complete response rate for 5 days was achieved in 73.6% of the patients; however, complete control could be achieved only in 29.2%. During these 5 days, both rates were lower on days 2-5 than on day 1. In addition, younger age was associated with worse control rates. Our findings suggest that more effective antiemetic therapy is needed for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy using cisplatin, especially in non-elderly patients.