Cytostatic Therapy: Platinum Derivatives

Active ingredients Dosage Special features
Cisplatin 50 mg/m² i. v. over 1 h Apoptosis is induced by cisplatin, but not only in tumor cells
Carboplatin AUC* 6 i. v. Apoptosis is induced by carboplatin, but not only in tumor cells
Oxaliplatin 85 mg/m² i. v. over 2 h

* AUC (Area under the curve) – the area under the concentration-time curve of a pharmaceutical in blood. It is the quantity by which the bioavailability of a pharmaceutical is expressed.

  • Mode of action: Platinum derivatives form adducts with DNA. The use of platinum derivatives causes bonds between two sites of a DNA strand or complementary strands.
  • Side effects: nephrotoxic (damaging to kidneys), ototoxic (damaging to hearing; possibly. irreversible sensorineural hearing loss / “nerve deafness”), leukopenia (deficiency of white blood cells), thrombopenias (deficiency of platelets), nausea (nausea), vomiting, sterility, sensitivity disorders, alopecia (hair loss), carcinogenicity (increased risk of secondary / second or subsequent tumors), neurotoxic – depending on the drug.

Other notes

The effects, indications, side effects and substances listed above represent an overview and do not claim to be exhaustive.