PharmaLive has reported on the findings of a study comparing two anti-emetic prophylactic regimens in patients receiving highly emetogenic conditioning chemotherapy prior to stem cell transplantation (HSCT), presented at the European Haematology Association 2011 Annual Meeting.

The multicentre AMENO study included 60 patients who received a conditioning regimen prior to HSCT.  They were randomised, with stratification according to the conditioning regimen used, to anti-emetic prophylaxis with a combination of palonosetron (0.25mg IV every 48 hours) and aprepitant (125mg on day 1, followed by 80 mg each of the remaining days) (combination group; n=31) or granisetron (3mg IV daily; n=29).  A complete response (no emesis and no use of rescue medication) was achieved in 92.3% of the combination group versus 67.9% of the granisetron group in the first 24 hours (acute phase), by 61.5% versus 28.6%, respectively, in the delayed phase (24-120 hours) and by 61.5% versus 28.6%, respectively, overall.  The report states that palonosetron plus aprepitant was also associated with improvements in a number of secondary endpoints; no specific details are however provided.