According to data presented at the 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, addition of the NK1 receptor antagonist aprepitant to ondansetron and dexamethasone reduces chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in breast cancer patients on a moderately emetogenic regimen.

 
In this study, 1,034 women with breast cancer were randomised to aprepitant triple-therapy (125mg on day 1 and 80mg on days 2-3; in addition to ondansetron 8mg BD and dexamethasone 12mg on day 1) or an active control regimen (ondansetron 8mg BD on days 1-3 and dexamethasone 20mg on day 1).  All medications were taken orally.  The main findings reported are as follows:

• During the 120 hours following the start of chemotherapy (no details of this are given in the report), 73.6% of women in the aprepitant group were free of vomiting compared to 56.7% in the control group (p<0.001). 

• A complete response was seen in 54.9% of the aprepitant group versus 43.9% of the control group (p<0.001)

• Women receiving aprepitant had a longer time to first vomiting (p < 0.0001)

[No further information is included in the Reuters report]