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Carboplatin is basically like a cousin to cisplatin. And we think about them similarly in a lot of ways, as far as therapy goes. However, there are indications that are cisplatin only, usually when it comes into a curative setting where you can not use carbo. When we’re looking at stage four, for most tumor types, carbo can be substituted for cisplatin. Given, one, the side effects are a little bit more tolerable. That peripheral neuropathy, the numbness and tingling and pain in your hands and feet is about 10% or less with carboplatin. Whereas cisplatin is upwards of 40%. One of the biggest reasons that carboplatin may be more desirable than cisplatin is because it’s not nearly as damaging on the kidneys. So if you have underlying kidney disease from longstanding hypertension and diabetes, usually a carbo is a safer drug as far as your renal function goes. Lastly, carboplatin compared to cisplatin can have a little bit more of an allergic reaction that happens within minutes of starting the infusion of the drug. You can get a skin test either before giving the drug or after the first cycle before your second cycle. If there’s a suspicion that the allergic reaction will reoccur, there are some desensitization techniques you can use medically to prepare yourself so that you don’t have that allergic reaction with the next dose.
