A possible anti-emetic role for sodium valproate in cytotoxic chemotherapy.

We report two patients with acute leukaemia who received emetogenic cytotoxic drugs and were on therapeutic doses of sodium valproate for epilepsy. Neither patient reported significant nausea nor vomited at any time during the chemotherapy, at times requiring no anti-emetic treatment whatsoever. We suggest that this absence of nausea was due to an anti-emetic effect of sodium valproate.