Platinum desensitization in patients with carboplatin hypersensitivity: A single-institution retrospective study.

Gary Altwerger, Gregory M Gressel, Diana P English, Wendelin K Nelson, Nina Carusillo, Dan-Arin Silasi, Masoud Azodi, Alessandro Santin, Peter E Schwartz, Elena S Ratner

Gynecologic oncology 2017 Jan

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The carboplatin desensitization (CD) protocol presented here allows patients with either a positive skin test or a prior hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) to safely, rapidly and effectively continue with carboplatin infusions. Newly described factors can identify patients at risk for developing adverse events during CD. A retrospective review was performed on patients with gynecologic cancer who underwent CD between 2005 and 2014. The CD protocol uses a four-step dilution process over 3.5h. 129 patients underwent CD and completed a total of 788cycles. The desensitization protocol prevented HSRs in 96% (753 out of 788) of these cycles. Patients achieved an average of 6.1cycles (SD±4.55, range 0-23) with CD. The CD protocol allowed 73% (94 of 129) of the patients to undergo carboplatin infusion without reaction. Patients with moderate to life-threatening HSRs (grade 2 through 4) were 10.5years younger at initial CD than patients with grades 0 or 1 HSRs (52.3 vs. 63, P = 0.0307). One patient death occurred during her thirteenth desensitization cycle. The HSR in this case was complicated by pre-exisiting pulmonary hypertension. This is the largest study of its kind showing a safe, effective and rapid (3.5h) CD protocol. The majority of patients with a history of either carboplatin hypersensitivity reaction or a positive skin test completed the CD protocol without HSRs. Age was identified as a risk factor for HSR severity during CD. Age can be employed along with pre-load dependent cardiac conditions as a way to help risk stratify patients undergoing CD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Gary Altwerger, Gregory M Gressel, Diana P English, Wendelin K Nelson, Nina Carusillo, Dan-Arin Silasi, Masoud Azodi, Alessandro Santin, Peter E Schwartz, Elena S Ratner. Platinum desensitization in patients with carboplatin hypersensitivity: A single-institution retrospective study. Gynecologic oncology. 2017 Jan;144(1):77-82