High concentration of oxaliplatin may be a risk factor for vascular pain

Oxaliplatin (L-OHP) is an antineoplastic agent that frequently causes vascular pain. However, the risk factors for vascular pain are unclear, and prevention methods have not been established. We retrospectively investigated patients who were treated with L-OHP to examine the influence of patient characteristics and concomitant analgesic use on the incidence of vascular pain.

We collected information about the presence or absence of vascular pain, age, sex, treatment dose and analgesic use of patients who received L-OHP at Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center. We analysed the relevance of each factor between the vascular pain onset and non-onset groups.

Thirty-two patients (average age: 68.6 years; 69.8% and 30.2% men and women, respectively) were classified into the vascular pain onset (n = 64) and non-onset groups (n = 68). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that L-OHP concentration (>358.5 mg/L) was an independent determinant of vascular pain development (odds ratio: 2.422, 95% CI: 1.117-5.252). Intergroup differences in age, sex, body mass index, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, and underlying pain from cancer and other comorbidities were not significant.

High L-OHP concentration was identified as a significant risk factor for L-OHP-induced vascular pain. Our results indicate that the dilution of L-OHP may reduce the incidence of vascular pain.