Treatment-related toxicities common to
patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy
Chemotherapy toxicities impact upon patients’ quality of life,
morbidities, and ability to complete planned treatment. The
completion of chemotherapy has been a major issue in clinical trials
of adjuvant therapy, with major trials reporting only 50% to 70% of
patients receiving the planned chemotherapy dose (Douillard et al.,
2006; Winton et al., 2005). A multivariate analysis found statistically
significant differences in completion on the basis of extent of surgery,
gender and age. Women, the elderly, and patients with
pneumonectomy were less likely to complete therapy (Alam et al.,
2005). Of particular concern are the grade three or four toxicities