Carboplatin (Paraplatin)


Class: Platinum analog.

Category: Cytotoxic chemotherapy.

Mechanism of action: Binds DNA and inhibits DNA synthesis and replication (cell cycle non-specific).

Indications (wide use):

  • Gynecologic tumors: Ovarian, endometrial cancer.
  • Germ cell tumors.
  • Head and neck tumors.
  • Lung cancer (both non small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer).
  • Bladder cancer.
  • Acute leukemias (relapse and refractory disease).

Side effects (toxicity):

  • Renal toxicity (use platinum credit card mnemonic below).
  • Bone marrow supression.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • Peripheral neuropathy.
  • Increased liver enzymes.

Of note, hair loss and severe allergic reactions (hypotension, bronchospasm) are uncommon.

Mnemonics and other tips:

Use the analogy of the Platinum credit card for Platinum analogs:

To recap:

  • ATM = ATN.
  • Losing our money hurts (peripheral neuropathy).
  • Losing our money makes our poor (cytopenias).

Juan Chango Azanza
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