Background: Platinum-based chemotherapy significantly increases the risk of nausea and vomiting, which can impair the treatment's efficacy and the patient's quality of life. This meta-analysis examines the incidence and risk factors of platinum-based chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (PINV) in patients treated with this chemotherapy.
Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. We conducted a literature search in the databases PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, WanFang, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese Medical Association Journal Database (CMAJD) through to 20 January 2025. Studies that reported the incidence and identified risk factors of nausea and vomiting specifically in patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy were included in the review. The data were extracted independently by two reviewers. The odds ratios (ORs) for each risk factor were calculated from the included studies. Sensitivity analyses and additional subgroup analyses were performed to ensure the robustness of our findings.
Results: This meta-analysis included 32 studies involving 14,207 participants. Female sex (OR = 2.363, 95% CI = 1.363-4.096, p = 0.002), anxiety (OR = 1.689, 95% CI = 1.057-2.700, p = 0.028), fatigue (OR = 1.413, 95% CI = 1.145-1.744, p = 0.001), motion sickness (OR = 1.816, 95% CI = 1.266-2.605, p = 0.001), and a history of vomiting during chemotherapy (OR = 2.728, 95% CI = 1.468-5.069, p = 0.002) were significantly associated with an increased risk of PINV.
Conclusion: Female sex, anxiety, fatigue, motion sickness, and a history of vomiting during chemotherapy increase the risk of PINV during platinum-based treatments.
Keywords: chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting; meta-analysis; platinum-based chemotherapy; risk factors; systematic review.