Maeda, Y., Ohune, T., Nakamura, M., Yamasaki, M., Kiribayashi, Y., & Murakami, T. (2004). Prevention of irinotecan-induced diarrhoea by oral carbonaceous adsorbent (Kremezin) in cancer patients. Oncology Reports, 12(3), 581–585.
To examine the effectiveness of two interventions to ameliorate diarrhea after treatment with irinotecan
This was a nonrandomized trial of 13 Japanese patients with various cancers receiving 60–100 mg/m2 irinotecan every one to two weeks, alone or in combination regimens. Patients received one of three interventions. Four patients received AST-120; one of these four had previously received irinotecan with no prophylaxis and thus served as a control. Four patients received the oral alkalization; one of these also had previously received irinotecan with no prophylaxis and thus served as a control. Including these two controls, a total of seven control patients received irinotecan with no prophylaxis.
The number of bowel movements was recorded; however, volume was not recorded.
Oral AST-120 was associated with significantly decreased numbers of daily bowel movements during irinotecan treatment compared to no prophylaxis (p < 0.05). Oral alkalization was effective in ameliorating diarrhea, but the difference was not significant.