Incidence of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting and Antiemetic Guideline Compliance in Chinese Real Clinical Setting: A Cross-Sectional Multicenter Survey

Background This survey aims to investigate the incidence of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in Chinese real clinical setting and evaluate the effect of guideline-consistent CINV prophylaxis (GCCP) and guideline-inconsistent CINV prophylaxis (GICP) on incidence of complete response (CR) of CINV. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional nationwide multicenter study assessing the guideline consistency and CINV incidence of patients was conducted at a total of 32 large medical centers from 26 provinces across the west,east༌northeast and middle part of China between April and May 2021. Result Data for 2964 patients were analyzed. Patients treated with moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC) were more prone to experience CINV during the acute phase compared to those receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC); patients receiving low or minimally emetogenic chemotherapy (L/mEC) were least likely to experience CINV during the overall phase among the whole study population. The prevalence of GCCP was 29.2% in the whole study population, and 13.6%, 35.7% and 45.1% for the patients receiving HEC, MEC and L/mEC, respectively. For patients receiving HEC and MEC, GCCP increased incidence of CR during both delayed and overall phases. For those receiving L/mEC and GICP, incidence of CR was not higher than that of patients receiving L/mEC and GCCP. Conclusion This study revealed Chinese CINV status, the prevalence of GCCP in the real clinical setting and the association between GCCP and CR rate for the first time. The findings indicate that prescribing antiemetics in compliance with guidelines for all patients receiving chemotherapy is strongly suggested.