[Management of cancer treatment-related diarrhea and constipation]

Digestive complications are frequent dose-limiting side-effect of chemotherapy. Diarrhea and constipation can affect quality of life and alter optimum treatment efficacy. The incidence and the severity of these toxicities have to be systematically evaluated in order to provide specific curative and preventive treatments. This review shows the recommended guidelines for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced diarrhea and the recent therapeutic approaches. The management of gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease and neutropenic enterocolitis is also described. Prevention and early recognition is critical to avoid sever life-threatening complications and improve quality of life.