ACUTE AND ANTICIPATORY EMESIS IN BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

A group of 90 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were asse ssed prospectively to estimate the prevalence of acute (post-treatment ) and anticipatory emesis in the 1990s, For this purpose, two protocol s of chemotherapy were analysed separately: cyclophosphamide/methotrex ate/5-fluorouracil (CMF) and 5-fluorouracil/doxorubicin/cyclophosphami de (FAG). All patients were treated with antiemetic therapy, which inc luded one corticoid plus ondansetron (in the FAC regimen), or one cort icoid plus thiethylperazine (in the CMF regimen). For at least one cyc le of chemotherapy 86.1% and 91.7% patients in the FAC protocol presen ted vomiting and nausea respectively; 11.1% bad anticipatory vomiting and 30.6% had anticipatory nausea. In the CMF protocol, 79.6% had post -chemotherapy vomiting and 71.7% had post-chemotherapy nausea associat ed with at least one cycle. In this group. 7.4% had anticipatory vomit ing and 16.6% had anticipatory nausea. A high proportion of patients s uffered anticipatory anxiety in both groups (75% in FAG, 74.1% in CMF) . The stimuli most frequently associated with the appearance of antici patory emesis were olfactory stimuli and cognitive stimuli. In summary , as a result of the advances made in antiemetic control during the la st decade, the severity of chemotherapy-induced emesis seems to have s ignificantly decreased, but the prevalence of these symptoms along the course of the treatment still remains high.