Dr. Gradishar on Pretreatment With Cetirizine to Prevent Infusion Reactions in Breast Cancer and Other Malignancies

William Gradishar, MD, the chief of hematology and oncology, Department of Medicine, Betsy Bramsen Professorship of Breast Oncology, and a professor of medicine (hematology and oncology) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses the efficacy of pretreatment with intravenous (IV) cetirizine (Quzyttir) in the prevention of infusion reactions in patients with breast cancer and other malignancies.

IV cetirizine was examined in a phase 2 trial (NCT04189588) vs IV diphenhydramine for the prevention of infusion reactions in patients with cancer who were undergoing treatment with an anti-CD20 antibody or paclitaxel. Cetirizine was equally effective compared with diphenhydramine in terms of reducing the risk of hypersensitivity reactions, Gradishar says. Additionally, although most patients enrolled to this study had hematologic malignancies vs solid tumors, only a handful of whom had breast cancer, the risk of developing any level of hypersensitivity reaction was equivalent between the 2 groups, Gradishar notes.

Notably, a key secondary end point for the study associated the use of intravenous cetirizine with less sedation compared with that of intravenous diphenhydramine, Gradishar concludes.