Background: The incidence of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) when using an oxaliplatin-based regimen may vary according to the cancer type. This study compared the occurrence of CINV in patients with gastric or colorectal cancers.
Methods: This retrospective study included patients who received oxaliplatin-containing regimens for gastric or colorectal cancer. The incidence of CINV during the first treatment course was evaluated. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed between gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) groups to compare the complete response (CR) and total control (TC) rates as indicators of antiemetic efficacy. The impact of primary tumor resection history, surgical procedure, and antiemetic agents was analyzed in the group with a higher incidence of CINV.
Results: The GC group included 99 patients and the CRC group included 180 patients, with 60 patients per group, after PSM. The CR rate was significantly lower in the GC group (75.0%) than in the CRC group (95.0%) (P < 0.01). Before PSM, the TC rate varied significantly by resection type in patients with GC (P = 0.012), indicating that tumor resection influenced the TC rate (P = 0.015). In patients with GC who underwent tumor resection, neither dopamine 2 receptor antagonists (P = 0.090) nor neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist (P = 0.66) use was associated with a significant difference in the CR rate.
Conclusion: Patients with GC have a higher incidence of CINV than those with CRC. In patients with GC, tumor resection significantly influenced the total control rate of CINV.
Keywords: Antiemetic therapy; CINV; Colorectal cancer; Gastric cancer; History of primary organ resection.
© 2025. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Japan Society of Clinical Oncology.