A leading anti-nausea drug could help improve the success rate of children taking platinum-based cancer treatments.

The drug ondansetron, branded as Zofran, could now be used to treat children who have uncontrolled vomiting.

Writing in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists detailed a trial using ondansetron and a placebo which showed significant results.

Dr Stephen Freedman, who works with the paediatric emergency medicine division at the Hospital for Sick Children in Canada, helped devise the trial and said the results were impressive.

"In children with gastroenteritis and dehydration, a single dose of oral ondansetron reduces vomiting and facilitates oral rehydration and may thus be well suited for use in the emergency department," the report concluded.

The findings could have particular importance for children on anti-cancer drugs, as South Caroline Cancer Centre's William Hrushesky told UPI.

He described how Zofran was "one of the most significant developments in preventing nausea and vomiting in cancer patients, especially those taking platinum-based therapies", with the hope now that it can be used in children.

"We have been able to give huge amounts of ondansetron to patients without any major side effects, so I would think that a single dose tailored to the size of the child should be safely tolerated," he commented.


© Adfero Ltd