A report has suggested that the neurotoxicity of oxaliplatin, a third generation platinum drug used to treat colorectal and other cancers, could be reduced, thus increasing the opportunities for its use.

Axel Grothey MD, of the Martin Luther University in Wittenberg, says that the drug induces two forms of neuropathy, one transient and visible in 95 per cent of patients, and one chronic and cumulative, suffered by fewer than 20 per cent of sufferers.

The transient kind can be reversed within hours or days, and is usually caused by exposure to cold, while the chronic affliction persists between treatment cycles and worsens with the cumulative dose.

Tests by Dr Grothey suggest that oxaliplatin chemotherapy can safely be administered in the adjuvant setting up to a high cumulative dose without the persistence of severe neurotoxicity.

He is now looking at various strategies for dealing with the problem, from 'stop and go' cumulative administering of the drug, and the use of neuromodulatory agents, including calcium and magnesium ions.

'Prospective trials investigating various therapeutic and prophylactic strategies are underway or have recently been completed, so that the actual value of these different approaches for clinical practice will soon be understood'.