Preliminary evaluation of a predictive blood assay to identify patients at high risk of chemotherapy-induced nausea

Purpose The aim of this study was to test a new blood-based assay for its ability to predict delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea. Methods Blood drawn from consented patients prior to receiving their first platinum-based therapy was tested for glutathione recycling capacity and normalized to total red cell numbers. This number was used to predict nausea and then compared to patient reported outcomes using the Rotterdam Symptom Check List and medical records. Results We show that the pathways involved in the glutathione recycling are stable for at least 48 h and that the test was able to correctly classify the risk of nausea for 89.1 % of the patients. The overall incidence of nausea was 21.9 % while women had an incidence of 29.6 %. Conclusions This might be the first objective test to predict delayed nausea for cancer patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy. We believe that this assay could better guide clinicians in their efforts to provide optimal patient-oriented care.