Percent of patients who exhibit known treatment side effects?

Leydi

Does this information not exist somewhere? I can find lists of possible side effects for specific chemotherapy regimens but what I'm looking for are how many (%) of patients exhibit each. Something like the following.

NOTE: THESE NUMBERS ARE MADE UP AS AN EXAMPLE.

For dose dense AC chemotherapy, the following percentage of patients exhibit the following side effects:

Nausea and vomiting: 45%

Hair loss: 97%

Infection requiring treatment: 33%

Infection requiring hospitalization: 12%

Mouth sores: 48%

Fatigue: 90%

Eye irritation: 64%

Heart damage: 4%

Bladder irritation: 22%

Chemo brain: 36%

Hopefloatsinyyc

many of these have so many variables that % would not be accurate (ie: infection... Since many things like lifestyle, vulnerability to germs, prior health etc come into play). Even with cardiac risks- they know there is a % risk (my cardiologist said 1%) that is dose dependent (meaning they know that if they give "x" amount of drug during AC chemo, patients WILL have heart problems, and therefore protocols are set to never go into that zone- however other factors like ones predisposition can lead to a minimal risk factor even when levels are kept in "safe" levels.

I think there are definitely some side effects (usually the less drastic/non-permanent ones) where almost everyone is affected to some degree- but even that is subjective.

Your MO can give you a more accurate % of risk on some of the more dangerous ones though... While understanding everyone is unique.

ElaineTherese

Hopefloats is right; I think they only keep track of the permanent, dangerous side effects. Otherwise, side effects vary by woman and the protocol adopted at the infusion center. I asked an oncology nurse at my doctor's office about some side effects like mouth sores. She noted that her patients almost never got mouth sores because the nurses make sure they suck on ice chips during infusion. Pretty much everyone on AC loses hair; how much may vary. If you're getting Neulasta injections the day after treatment, your infection rate is supposed to be lower. Side effects may even vary from infusion to infusion. After my first AC infusion, I had heartburn. But, I never got that again after my other three infusions. Best wishes!

muska

Hi Leydi, I think the information you are looking for is found in numerous studies about the drugs. If you go to one of the sites that provide drug info, e.g. RXLIST - Taxol you can find some numbers for any drug. Be careful when you look at the data - as different doses and side effects may be present when the same drug is administered for different conditions. In the linked example, scroll down to Table 13 and read all the fine print carefully.

Personally, I don't see much point in studying those numbers. You MO will tell you what you should watch for much faster and give you more info that will be tailored to your case. For example, if you have low red blood counts to begin with and had anemia in the past you are probably more likely to experience anemia as a result of AC than an 'average' BC patient. Speaking of nausea and vomiting I can tell you that if you take all the meds you are supposed to take you will most likely experience no nausea at all unless you are very prone to nausea and vomiting.

Good luck with your treatment!

Leydi

Thank you, everyone. You've definitely given me some things to think about. I just think it is a bit odd with the number of people who have and are undergoing very similar regimens that there isn't more easily found statistics on how common each side effect is. I have talked to my MO and he has mentioned the definite and most likely side effects based on what he sees in his practice, as well as possible minimization strategies. Mainly was interested in looking for other relatively common side effects that he may not have mentioned.

I'm a numbers person and can play with numbers and statistics as a way of feeling more in control with what is happening to/with me. You should see my financial spreadsheets.