Management of gastrointestinal adverse effects of cancer treatment part 2: Nausea, vomiting, immune-related gastrointestinal adverse effects

Overview

Gastrointestinal adverse effects are common in patients with cancer and can be exacerbated by the disease itself. These adverse effects lead to decreased quality of life and may result in discontinuation of therapy and worsening of treatment outcomes. In extreme cases, adverse effects may even result in patient death. Oncology therapy has undergone significant changes in recent decades, introducing a range of new treatments. Unfortunately, these advancements have also brought about a previously unseen spectrum of adverse effects. The first separate part of this article was devoted to diarrhoea, constipation, mucositis and anorexia. This second part discusses nausea, vomiting, and immune-related gastrointestinal adverse events of anticancer chemotherapy and immunotherapy and discusses the appropriate management of these complications.

Keywords:

immunotherapy – Chemotherapy – Nausea – Vomiting – gastrointestinal adverse effects – immune-related adverse events.