Study: Chemo Leaves Lasting Side Effects

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Long-term survivors of testicular cancer who were treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy had more severe side effects, including neurological side effects and Raynaud-like phenomena, than men who were not treated with chemotherapy.

Marianne Brydøy, M.D., of the Department of Oncology, Haukeland University Hospital, in Bergen, Norway, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of known side effects among long-term testicular cancer survivors in Norway. Side effects included sensory neuropathy, tinnitus, hearing impairment, and Raynaud-like phenomena (discoloration of the hands or feet on exposure to cold).

Researchers studied 1,814 men who were treated for unilateral testicular cancer during 1980-1994 in a national multicenter follow-up survey conducted from 1998 to 2002. A total of 1,409 participants were assessable in this study.

The researchers found that at four to 21 years after treatment for testicular cancer, men who had received any chemotherapy had significantly higher odds for increasing severity of all assessed symptoms. Men who received chemotherapy also had more hearing impairment, particularly those who had received dose-intensive chemotherapy.

"A major aim in the treatment of testicular cancer is to minimize toxic effects without compromising the high cure rate," the authors were quoted as saying. "Our data favor the use of chemotherapy regimens that contain 20 mg/m2 cisplatin per day to limit ototoxicity."

SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, November 25, 2009

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