Cancer has become the second most common cause of death in Slovenia in recent years, with an increasing number of people being affected. The growing number of patients also means a rising need for the use of parenteral chemotherapy, which can cause the occurence of infusion reactions (IR) during administration.
The purpose of this retrospective study is to analyze the incidence and characteristics of IRs recorded in patients treated with chemotherapy at the Oncology Institute Ljubljana between 2019 and 2023. We determined during which cycle of therapy IRs occurred, how often patients continued with the administration of the drug on the same day after symptom resolution, and the frequency and success of desensitization.
Our study revealed that among 13 different cytotoxic agents administered at the Institute of Oncology, IRs occurred in 403 cases. The highest incidence of IR was recorded for pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (7,42%), followed by oxaliplatin (6,91%) and paclitaxel (3,10%), with a slightly lower incidence for carboplatin (1,95%). Other agents had significantly lower IR incidence (below 1%). Anthracycline antibiotics and taxanes mostly caused IRs during the first or second therapy cycle, whereas IRs to platinum compounds appeared later, with a median around the 7th therapy cycle. After an IR, patients continued the drug administration on the same day after symptoms subsided for pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (95%), docetaxel (93%), and paclitaxel (73%). For other agents, the percentage was significantly lower, with the lowest being for carboplatin and oxaliplatin, where only 6% and 7% of patients, respectively, continued therapy on the same day. The trend was similar in subsequent therapy cycles, with the highest continuation rates for docetaxel (86%), pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (84%), and paclitaxel (81%). The lowest continuation rates were again observed with platinum compounds (around 25%). Upon re-exposure to the drug that initially caused an IR, the recurrence of IR was low, occurring in approximately 20% of patients. When desensitization was used, the recurrence of IR was further reduced by at least 50%.
The data collected in this study will contribute to a better understanding of IRs, which is crucial given the increasing incidence of cancer and the consequent greater use of cytotoxic agents.
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