Oncology

Answer 4 Dacarbazine can cause hemorrhagic cystitis. Cyclophosphamide can cause hemorrhagic cystitis but dacarbazine does not. Doxorubicin can cause cardiomyopathy, usually at cumulative lifetime doses of greater than 450 mg/m2.6 Patients receiving doxorubicin should have a baseline cardiac evaluation with either a multiple gated acquisition scan or echocardiogram. Bleomycin can cause acute or delayed pneumonitis. Patients should be assessed for cough or shortness of breath and should have baseline pulmonary function testing prior to receiving bleomycin as well as periodic repeat pulmonary function testing while receiving the drug. Bleomycin can also rarely induce Raynaud’s phenomenon. Vinblastine causes constipation as well as peripheral neuropathy. REFERENCE 6. Hortobagyi GN, Frye D, Buzdar AU, et al. Decreased cardiac toxicity of doxorubicin administered by continuous intravenous infusion in combination chemotherapy for metastatic breast carcinoma. Cancer 1989;63:37-45. Click here to return to the questions

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