Abstract:
Vincristine is an alkaloid derivative of Vinca rosea the periwinkle plant. Its mechanism of action involves depolymerization of microtubules, which are an important part of the cytoskeleton and the mitotic spindle. The clinical interest of Vinca alkaloids was clearly identified as early as 1965 and so this class of compounds has been used as anticancer agents for more than 30 years. Vincristine is used mainly in combination therapy for the induction of remission in childhood acute leukemias. Cutaneous drug reactions are adverse responses to drugs that appear on the skin. The study was carried out in the Children Cancer Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. 106 (75 male and 31 female) cancer patients were admitted to pediatric-cancer treatment facility. In every case a detailed history was elicited and a thorough clinical examination was earned out as suggested by Sacerdoti. Alopecia was the most common adverse effect appeared in 62 percent of patients, then pigmentation changes were the second commonest adverse effect i.e. (16.4 %), nail changes 8 percent, petechiae, photosensitivity, pruritus, urticaria, wound-infection, skin necrosis, hand-foot skin reaction and injection site reaction observed in only 1 percent of patients. In this study systematically review prospective studies on dermatological toxicities of vincristine in children and provide a summary of quantitative estimate of their occurrence.
Page(s):
53-60
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Pakistan Journal of Pharmacy, Volume: 25, Issue: 1, Year: 2008