PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Yasumasa Tsuda
AU  - Atsushi Kitamura
AU  - Naoki Nishimura
AU  - Nao Yagi
AU  - Shinji Takayama
AU  - Kouhei Okafuji
AU  - Yutaka Tomishima
AU  - Torahiko Jinta
AU  - Keiko Koyama
AU  - Sachiko Ohde
AU  - Kazumi Gotoh
AU  - Naohiko Chohnabayashi
TI  - Safety of pemetrexed according to the duration of vitamin B12 and folic acid supplementation prior to the first dose of pemetrexed
DP  - 2014 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P2724
VI  - 44
IP  - Suppl 58
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P2724.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P2724.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44
AB  - Objective:Administration of vitamin B12 and folic acid 7 days prior to the administration of the first dose of pemetrexed is recommended. However, vitamin supplementation is rarely initiated less than 7 days prior to the first dose of pemetrexed. Therefore, we analyzed the safety of vitamin supplementation less than 7 days prior to the first dose of pemetrexed.Methods:Patients with nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer were classified into 2 groups according to the duration of vitamin supplementation prior to the first dose of pemetrexed: group A received vitamin supplementation for more than 7 days, group B received vitamin supplementation for less than 7 days. We analyzed the adverse effects such as myelosuppression, rash, and diarrhea after 1 cycle of pemetrexed therapy.Results:A total of 73 patients were administered pemetrexed; 41 patients were men and 32 were women with a median age of 64 years (range, 43–86 years). A total of 59 patients were classified into group A and 14 into group B; 32 patients were administered pemetrexed as a first-line treatment. Neutropenia of Grade 3 or more occurred in 3/52(5.8%) patients in group A and 2/14(14.3%) patients in group B (p = 0.29). There were no significant differences in the rate of occurrence of neutropenia, rash, or diarrhea.Conclusion:In this retrospective study, we determined that it was safe to administer pemetrexed if vitamin supplementation had been initiated for less than 7 days prior to the first dose of pemetrexed.