Study Identifies Potential Cause of Hearing Loss from Cisplatin
Author: NCI Staff Date: January 26, 2018 Source: National Cancer Institute (https://www.cancer.gov/news-events) Results from a new study may explain why many patients treated with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin develop lasting hearing loss. Researchers found that, in both mice and humans, cisplatin can be found in the cochlea—the part of the inner ear that enables hearing—months and even years after treatment. By contrast, the drug is eliminated from most organs in the body within days to weeks after being administered. The study, led by researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published November 21 in Nature Communications. Cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy drug, is commonly used for the treatment of many cancers, including bladder, ovarian, and testicular cancers. But cisplatin and other similar platinum-containing drugs can damage the cochlea, leaving 40%–80% of adults, and at least 50% of children, with significant permanent hearing loss, a condition that can greatly affect quality of life. “This study starts to explain why patients who receive the drug sustain hearing loss,” said Percy Ivy, M.D., associate chief of NCI’s Investigational Drug Branch, who was not involved in the study. “This is very important, because as we come to understand how cisplatin-related hearing loss occurs, over time we may figure out a way to block it, or at least diminish its effects.” A New Approach to Researching Cisplatin-Induced Hearing Loss The new study differs from previous research because it is a comprehensive look at the pharmacokinetics, or concentration, of the [...]