Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV)

Understanding CINV

What is CINV?

What is CINV?

A side effect of chemotherapy

Chemotherapy often has side effects. One of them is chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, otherwise referred to as CINV.

Chemotherapy can bring on CINV by:

Injuring stomach cells that start the process of nausea and vomiting
Directly activating the area of the brain responsible for producing nausea and vomiting

Several chemotherapies can cause CINV in both ways.

CINV

There are 2 main types of CINV:

Acute: Mostly within the first few hours of getting treatment
Delayed: 1 to 5 days after a chemotherapy treatment

The amount and timing of CINV can vary. Some chemotherapies cause acute nausea and vomiting. Others cause acute nausea and vomiting followed by another period of delayed nausea and vomiting.

Chemotherapy is essential in your fight against cancer. However, the nausea and vomiting that often goes along with it is something that you can help prevent by adding EMEND. Now is the time to speak to your health care team about how a regimen with EMEND can help prevent CINV.

Next > How EMEND can help

Important Safety Information

Do not take EMEND if you are taking Orap (pimozide), Seldane (terfenadine), Hismanal (astemizole), or Propulsid (cisapride). Taking EMEND with any of these medicines could cause serious or life-threatening problems. Do not take EMEND if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in EMEND.

Before you take EMEND, tell your doctor if you have liver problems.

Before you take EMEND, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant because it is not known if EMEND can harm your unborn baby. Women who use birth control medicines containing hormones (birth control pills, skin patches, implants, and certain IUDs) should also use a backup method of birth control during treatment with EMEND and for up to 1 month after using EMEND to prevent pregnancy.

Before you take EMEND, tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding because it is not known if EMEND passes into your milk and if it can harm your baby.

EMEND may affect how other medicines work, including chemotherapy. Other medicines may affect how EMEND works. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you are taking or plan to take, including prescription or nonprescription medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements.

If you take the blood-thinner medicine warfarin sodium (Coumadin or Jantoven), your doctor may do blood tests after you take EMEND to check your blood clotting.

EMEND may cause serious side effects, including allergic reactions such as hives, rash, itching, and trouble breathing or swallowing. Stop taking EMEND and call your doctor right away if you have any of these signs or symptoms of an allergic reaction.

The most common side effects of EMEND are tiredness, nausea, hiccups, constipation, diarrhea, loss of appetite, headache, and hair loss. These are not all the possible side effects of EMEND.