Antiemetic Efficacy of Dexamethasone and Granisetron on Days 1–3 for Delayed Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting Caused by Amrubicin Monotherapy: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Amrubicin hydrochloride (AMR) is widely used as a second- or later-line treatment for small cell lung cancer; it is classified as an anticancer drug with moderate emetic risk. For an anticancer drug with moderate emetic risk, it is recommended to administer a first-generation 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonist plus dexamethasone (DEX) 9.9 mg on Day 1 for preventing acute-phase chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and DEX 8 mg on Days 2 – 3 to prevent delayed-phase CINV. However, no studies have the optimal antiemetic regimen for AMR monotherapy administered over 3 consecutive days, and it remains uncertain whether DEX should be administered on Days 4 and 5. In this study, we investigated CINV incidence among patients receiving AMR monotherapy without DEX administration on Days 4 and 5. We conducted a retrospective analysis of medical records, evaluating CINV in 38 patients with lung cancer who received AMR monotherapy during hospitalization at Komaki City Hospital from 2016 to 2023. The total control rate for nausea and vomiting (defined as the proportion of patients without nausea/vomiting and requiring no additional antiemetic treatment) during the observation period was 92.1％ (35 out of 38 patients). These findings suggest that AMR monotherapy, combined with first-generation 5-HT3 receptor antagonists and 9.9 mg of DEX on Days 1 – 3, can effectively prevent CINV, including delayed-phase symptoms.