Efficacy benefit of an NK₁ receptor antagonist (NK₁RA) in patients receiving carboplatin: supportive evidence with NEPA (a fixed combination of the NK₁ RA, netupitant, and palonosetron) and aprepitant regimens

Purpose: Antiemetic guideline recommendations are inconsistent as to whether a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist (NK₁ RA) should be administered with a 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 (5HT₃) RA + dexamethasone (DEX) in patients receiving carboplatin. Patients receiving cisplatin routinely receive an NK₁ RA-containing regimen with a resulting 14–22 % benefit in no emesis rates over a 5-HT₃ RA/DEX control. Recent studies suggest a similar benefit in patients receiving carboplatin. NEPA is the first fixed antiemetic combination agent and comprises the highly selective NK₁ RA, netupitant, and pharmacologically distinct 5-HT₃ RA, palonosetron (PALO). This paper presents the efficacy of NEPA in the subset of patients receiving carboplatin in a phase 3 trial (NCT01376297), in the context of aprepitant (APR) data in the carboplatin setting. Methods: One hundred ninety-six patients (47 % of all study patients: n = 145 NEPA + DEX; n = 51 APR + PALO + DEX) received carboplatin in a multinational, double-blind, randomized phase 3 study. Complete response (CR: no emesis/rescue) and no significant nausea (NSN: score ≤25 on 100 mm visual analog scale) rates were calculated. Results: Cycle 1–4 overall (0–120 h) CR rates were similar for NEPA (80, 91, 92, and 93 %) and APR (82, 88, 88, and 90 %). Overall NSN rates were also similar (NEPA 84–96 %; APR 82–90 %). Conclusions: Response rates for NEPA and APR regimens were similar and consistent with prior studies evaluating the contribution of adding NK₁ RAs in patients receiving carboplatin. Considering such evidence, guideline groups/practitioners should consider giving a NK₁ RA antiemetic triplet in patients receiving carboplatin.