Clinical Significance
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting continues to have a great impact on the quality of life of patients receiving some anti-neoplastic therapies (Cohen, de Moor, Eisenberg, Ming, and Hu, 2007). CINV can be defined as acute CINV, delayed CINV or anticipatory CINV. Acute CINV occurs within 24 hours after chemotherapy infusion. Delayed CINV begins 24 hours or more after chemotherapy infusion and can last up to several days after chemotherapy infusion is completed. Anticipatory CINV can occur in up to 25% of patients and is a result of classic operant conditioning from stimuli associated with chemotherapy; usually occurring within 12 hours prior to treatment administration (Camp-Sorrell, 2005). In addition to acute, delayed and anticipatory CINV, patients can also experience breakthrough or refractory CINV, which occurs despite prophylactic antiemetic administrations.