Antiemetics

The Antiemetics Study Group was originally established as a subcommittee of MASCC to address the control of nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. At the 1995 MASCC Annual Meeting in Luxembourg, the group organized a consensus conference on the use of antiemetics. To identify the most important topics on which consensus should be measured and developed, the group constructed a questionnaire and circulated it to experts. The results, published in Supportive Care in Cancer, identified eight major issues that served as the basis for the conference (Ballatori et al, Support Care Cancer 1997; 5: 269-273). The Consensus Conference was held in Perugia, Italy, 28-29 April 1997, and results were published in the ESMO journal, Annals of Oncology (Ann Oncol.1998; 9: 811-819).

In the following years, the study group has worked in two directions. First, because various guideline recommendations for antiemetic prophylaxis (from, for example, the ASCO, ESMO, MASCC, NCON, and ASHP) differed, a unified consensus conference was held in New York. 19-20 April 2001. The final document of the conference was presented during the ASCO-MASCC Joint Session held in San Francisco, 14 May, 2001.

Second, the members of the study group have always been most concerned about the moderate transfer of knowledge from clinical trials to clinical practice. The study group thus planned an international drug utilization study to study antiemetic prescriptions and effectiveness with respect to delayed emesis induced by chemotherapy. Despite optimal prophylaxis, this remains one of the unsolved problems of antiemetic therapy.