title: Administration of the cytoprotectant amifostine.
abstract: This article provides guidelines for the use of amifostine (Ethyol, Alza Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto, CA, and U.S. Bioscience, Inc., West Conshohocken, PA), a pancytoprotective agent approved for reducing renal toxicity associated with cisplatin administration in patients with advanced ovarian or non-small cell lung cancer. Pretreatment with amifostine reduces the incidence of serious and cumulative chemotherapy-induced toxicities, thus improving quality of life, and allows administration of optimal doses and scheduling of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, translating into improved survival. Practical guidelines for administration of amifostine are provided in an effort to ameliorate emesis, amifostine's principle side effect.
authors.affiliation: Alza Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lindemann
mesh_terms: D004999:Amifostine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; D004999:Amifostine; D002945:Cisplatin