Allergic reactions to oxaliplatin in a single institute in Japan

Allergic reactions to oxaliplatin can be severe and are an important cause of discontinuation of treatment. A retrospective review was performed for 105 patients who received FOLFOX regimens between May 2005 and June 2007. Twenty-five cases (23.8%) of allergic reactions were identified, including 9 late onset reactions (8.6%) and 16 immediate reactions (15.2%). Severe allergy (Grades 3 and 4) occurred in seven patients (6.7%). Re-introduction of FOLFOX was attempted for seven immediate onset patients with a severity grade of 1 or 2, and three of these patients (42.9%) showed relapse of allergy. In approximately 10% of the patients, FOLFOX had to be discontinued due to allergy before the disease became refractory to the regimen. Our experience indicates that allergy to oxaliplatin may be a significant concern and that methods are required for suppression of this allergy.