Background: Hypersensitivity reactions are rare but at times severe complications to cytostatic drugs.
Procedure: The percentage of allergic reactions to carboplatin and their clinical features were evaluated in 185 children affected by different solid tumors and treated with etoposide-carboplatin chemotherapy. Allergic reactions that occurred during or immediately following etoposide infusion (5 cases, 2.8%) were excluded from the study.
Results: Seventeen out of 185 patients (9.2%) suffered from allergic responses to carboplatin. The first of these occurred after an average of 10.1 courses (range, 1-23; median, 9). The risk calculated according to the number of courses is 2% at 6 courses, 11.3% at 12 courses, and 47% at more than 12 courses.
Conclusions: The high risk of allergic reactions to multiple courses of carboplatin should be kept in mind when developing treatment regimens that include the drug.