CANCER: PATCHING UP SIDE EFFECTS
A New Anti-Nausea Patch Hits The Market
A patch to help alleviate chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting-approved by the Food and Drug Administration in September-is now on the market. The Sancuso patch is applied before treatment and releases the anti-nausea drug granisetron into the bloodstream for up to five consecutive days.
"Undergoing chemotherapy remains a challenging experience on many levels," says Barbara Rogers, CRNP, a hematology-oncology nurse practitioner from Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, on behalf of the manufacturer ProStrakan. "(This) has the potential to impact patient comfort and quality of life."
Nausea and vomiting occur in more than one-half to two-thirds of chemo patients and can result in dehydration, malnutrition and other conditions that may cause them to prematurely end the treatment. The FDA gave the green light to Sancuso after a study revealed that the patch performed equally well as the once-daily oral administration of granisetron. Drug-related adverse reactions occurred in nearly 9 percent of the study's participants-the most prevalent side effect reported was constipation.