[Bolus injection of vinorelbine reduces incidence of local venous toxicity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer].

Vinorelbine is currently considered as one of the most active chemotherapeutic agents for non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer. On the other hand, it is known as a vesicant drug frequently inducing venous irritation and phlebitis. Although the manufacturer's instructions recommend drip infusion for the drug administration in Japan, in 5 to 30% of patients venous toxicity has been reported that sometimes leads to treatment discontinuation even if it brings about a favorable response. In this report, we describe a retrospective study that compares drip infusion and bolus injection to prevent local venous toxicity. Seventy-one drip infusions and 196 bolus injections were administered to 18 and 40 non-small cell lung cancer patients, respectively. Also, 124 drip infusions and 335 bolus injections were administered to 13 and 38 breast cancer patients, respectively. We found that the bolus injection significantly reduced the incidence of vinorelbine- induced local venous toxicity in both diseases(22.2% versus 0% in non-small cell lung cancer patients, p<0.0006, and 46.2% versus 7.9% in breast cancer patients, p<0.0001). Our study demonstrates that bolus injection of vinorelbine is a suitable way for safe chemotherapy especially in an outpatient setting.