| Message: | Carboplatin, sold under the trade name Paraplatin among others, is a chemotherapy drug used against some forms of cancer (mainly ovarian carcinoma, lung, head and neck cancers as well as endometrial, esophageal, bladder, breast and cervical; central nervous system or germ cell tumors; osteogenic sarcoma, and as preparation for a stem cell or bone marrow transplant).
It was introduced in the late 1980s and has since gained popularity in clinical treatment due to its vastly reduced side effects compared to its parent compound cisplatin. Cisplatin and carboplatin belong to the group of platinum-based antineoplastic agents, and interact with DNA to interfere with DNA repair
It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medications needed in a basic health system.
Side Effects
Relative to cisplatin, the greatest benefit of carboplatin is its reduced side effects, particularly the elimination of nephrotoxic effects. Nausea and vomiting are less severe and more easily controlled.
The main drawback of carboplatin is its myelosuppressive effect. This causes the blood cell and platelet output of bone marrow in the body to decrease quite dramatically, sometimes as low as 10% of its usual production levels.
Carboplatin is less potent than cisplatin; depending on the strain of cancer, carboplatin may only be 1/8 to 1/45 as effective[citation needed]. The clinical standard of dosage of carboplatin is usually a 4:1 ratio compared to cisplatin; that is, for a dose that usually requires a particular dose of cisplatin, four times as much carboplatin is needed to achieve the same effectiveness[citation needed.
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