Investigation for Risk Factor and Preventive Effect of NSAIDs, Opioid on Gemcitabine-induced Vascular Pain

Abstract

Vascular pain is a characteristic adverse effect of gemcitabine (GEM) intravenous infusion, but risk factors have not been sufficiently examined. We conducted logistic regression analysis to determine vascular pain-associated clinical factors and evaluated the protective effect of NSAIDs and opioids against GEM-induced vascular pain.Four-hundred-fifty-seven patients (total number of doses: 3,306 infusions) who received GEM therapy from April 2006 to March 2011 were analyzed. As a result of multivariate logistic analysis of patient backgrounds, administration of opioids (no) and sex (female) were independent risk factors related to the onset of vascular pain by GEM. No statistically significant difference was demonstrated, but the incidence of GEM-induced vascular pain was 29.7% in patients administered opioids compared to 38.6% in those without analgesics.These findings suggest that some prophylaxes for vascular pain are necessary from the initial dose of GEM in patients having such a risk factor.