On September 22, Dr. Antonio Pinto of the National Cancer Institute in Naples, Italy announced that two doses of Aloxi (palonosetron) are more effective than one at preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea. He presented his results at the European Cancer Organization and European Society for Medical Oncology’s joint conference in Berlin.

Dr. Pinto studied 60 cancer patients, including some with multiple myeloma, who were being treated with chemotherapy. All patients received one dose of Aloxi, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July 2003, and dexamethasone (Decadron), another anti-nausea medication, 30 minutes before chemotherapy. Thirty of those patients received a second dose of Aloxi and dexamethasone 48 hours later.

Patients in both groups did not experience chemotherapy-induced vomiting, and only 28% of patients experienced moderate nausea.

The group that received two doses experienced fewer instances of delayed nausea than the group who received one dose.  Five days after treatment, patients who received two doses were better able to perform activities of daily living and were less affected by nausea. 

For more information, please see the press release at Helsinn’s Web site.