Research results in big savings for cancer treatment (neurotoxicity/oxaliplatin/magnesium/calcium)

healthnews

"....An intervention to counter the neurotoxic effects of a chemotherapy treatment for cancer has been withdrawn after research showed it was ineffective.

This resulted in big savings in the cost of the intervention and in treatment time by nurses, at Auckland City Hospital’s medical oncology service, one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Australasia.
Medical oncologist and doctoral student clinician Catherine Han carried out the research at the University of Auckland and Auckland City Hospital, as part of her work investigating the origins of neurotoxicity from oxaliplatin chemotherapy treatment. Her research is funded for three years by a Health Research Council Clinical Research Training fellowship for $250,000 awarded in 2012.
Research into the effectiveness of the calcium and magnesium infusions given to cancer patients to counter the neurotoxic effects of chemotherapy treatment with oxaliplatin showed it was not working.
“Catherine’s research showed clearly that the magnesium and calcium infusion does not work, and has led to a change in clinical practice in our cancer treatment centre at Auckland Hospital,” says her research supervisor, Associate Professor Mark McKeage who is a clinical pharmacologist and cancer specialist, and a co-director of the University-based Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre....