Our experience with the use of ranitidine in the prevention of gastroduodenal damage caused by antiblastic polychemotherapy

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Prevention of the adverse effects of antiblastic chemotherapy on the upper digestive tract through the administration of ranitidine. METHODS: A heterogeneous group of patients suffering from neoplastic pathologies was monitored between 1984 and 1998 (204 males and 152 females); patients were aged between 36 and 80 years old and they were all treated with antineoplastic polychemotherapy. Preventive therapy with ranitidine at a dose of 300 mg/die per os in a single evening bolus was continued throughout the entire period of antiblastic treatment, varying between a minimum of six months and one year or more. The study was performed at the Outpatient clinic for Surgical Oncology and Clinical Therapy at the General Surgery Department of Valdichiana Senese, Local Health Unit 7, Siena. It took the form of a clinical and instrumental follow-up using esophagogastroduodenoscopy at the time of enrollment and subsequently 3, 6 and 12 months thereafter as required. RESULTS: Ranitidine was found useful as a means of significantly reducing the gastrolesive effects of antiblastic drugs which, as has been extensively shown by the literature, can lead to the suspension of treatment owing to intolerance and even death. In this study ranitidine reduced the lesive effects on the upper digestive tract in 78% of the cases studied compared to 22% in non-responders. CONCLUSIONS: The action of ranitidine made antiblastic treatment more acceptable by mitigating or even blocking the adverse effects on the stomach and duodenum, thus leading to an improved quality of life for these cancer patients.