Publisher's Synopsis
This publication contains papers presented at a satellite symposium held at the 17th congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology which focused on ondansetron, the first highly selective 5-HT3 receptor antagonist to be marketed for the prevention of chemotherapy and radiotherapy-induced emesis.;The papers address a variety of issues including the role of ondansetron and other chemoprotective agents in new approaches to chemotherapy, such as dose intensification. The addition of dexamethasone to ondansetron is known to enhance emetic efficacy and the results of two studies comparing ondansetron plus dexamethasone to metoclopramide combinations are discussed. A significant number of patients receiving certain radiotherapy schedules experience emesis and one paper examines the role of ondansetron in the prevention and treatment of this condition.;Several studies with ondansetron in patients receiving treatment for breast cancer have been carried out. A review of these studies show the superior efficacy, better side effect profile and quality of life associated with ondansetron compared to conventional anti-emetics. Ondansetron has also been shown to be a cost-effective treatment compared with metoclopramide; one paper presents 2 cost-effectiveness analyses which show that the higher acquisition price of ondansetron is compensated for by its superior efficacy and adverse event profile, resulting in lower overall costs for treatment with ondansetron. The last paper reviews the development of ondansetron and the current large rapidly expanding database derived from clinical trials and routine use of ondansetron.
