Platinum-induced hearing loss after treatment for childhood cancer

• Published in: Cochrane database of systematic reviews 2016-08, Vol.2016 (8), p.CD010181
• Main Authors: van As, Jorrit W, van den Berg, Henk, van Dalen, Elvira C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Antineoplastic Agents - adverse effects; Cancer; Carboplatin - adverse effects; Child; Child health; Child, Preschool; Cisplatin - adverse effects; Cohort Studies; Ear, nose & throat; Hearing Loss - chemically induced; Hearing Loss - epidemiology; Humans; Infant; Late effects: therapy‐related side effects after treatment; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1469-493X
• DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010181.pub2

Platinum-based therapy, including cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin or a combination of these, is used to treat a variety of paediatric malignancies. Unfortunately, one of the most important adverse effects is the occurrence of hearing loss or ototoxicity. There is a wide variation in the reported prevalence of platinum-induced ototoxicity and the associated risk factors. More insight into the prevalence of and risk factors for platinum-induced hearing loss is essential in order to develop less ototoxic treatment protocols for the future treatment of children with cancer and to develop adequate follow-up protocols for childhood cancer survivors treated with platinum-based therapy. To evaluate the existing evidence on the association between childhood cancer treatment including platinum analogues and the occurrence of hearing loss. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2015, Issue 8), MEDLINE (PubMed) (1945 to 23 September 2015) and EMBASE (Ovid) (1980 to 23 September 2015). In addition, we searched reference lists of relevant articles and the conference proceedings of the International Society for Paediatric Oncology (2008 to 2014), the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (2008 to 2015) and the International Conference on Long-Term Complications of Treatment of Children and Adolescents for Cancer (2010 to 2015). Experts in the field provided information on additional studies. All study designs, except case reports, case series (i.e. a description of non-consecutive participants) and studies including fewer than 100 participants treated with platinum-based therapy who had an ototoxicity assessment, examining the association between childhood cancer treatment including platinum analogues and the occurrence of hearing loss. Two review authors independently performed the study selection. One review author performed data extraction and risk of bias assessment, which was checked by another review author. We identified 13 eligible cohort studies including 2837 participants with a hearing test after treatment with a platinum analogue for different types of childhood cancers. All studies had methodological limitations, with regard to both internal (risk of bias) and external validity. Participants were treated with cisplatin, carboplatin or both, in varying doses. The reported prevalence of hearing loss varied considerably between 0% and 90.1%; none of the studies provided data on tinnitus. Three studies reported