Absence of Relationship between Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroups and Cisplatin-Induced Hearing Loss

Many drugs used for cancer chemotherapy produce reactive oxygen species, thus leading to various complications including nephrotoxicity, cardiotoxicity, and ototoxicity.

We have provided a haplogroup analysis of a cohort of cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and compared factors associated with associated hearing loss.

This observational cohort study includes a pure-tone audiometry of the patients who underwent chemotherapeutic treatment. Medical history, presence of risk factors for hearing loss, toxic habits, and association with haplogroups have been determined.

40% of patients developed hearing loss after administration of cisplatin, which was bilateral and symmetrical and of high frequencies. The most frequent haplogroup was H with a slight overexpression of groups V and K and a low frequency of groups J and T. No association of the haplogroup types with the hearing loss has been found; however age was revealed as an important determining factor.

Ototoxicity caused by cisplatin is manifested as bilateral, symmetrical, and predominantly high frequency hearing loss. Although we did not find a strong correlation of haplogroups with ototoxicity, our results revealed the existence of a risk group of elderly patients over 60, which are more susceptible to hearing loss induced by cisplatin, than young adults, regardless of preexisting hearing loss.