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Chemotherapy-Induced Diarrhea

Chemotherapy drugs are intended to target and damage rapidly growing tumor cells, but also damage rapidly growing healthy cells such as the mucosal cells of the small intestine wall. As a result of such damage to healthy cells, as many as 80% of patients undergoing chemotherapy experience gastrointestinal side-effects, such as severe diarrhea. 

Chemotherapy-Induced Diarrhea (CID) is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening condition that can result in severe dehydration, malnutrition and other disorders during chemotherapy treatments. For cancer patients, the onset of CID may necessitate chemotherapy dose reductions, delays or even the discontinuation of chemotherapy. resulting in sub-optimal treatment of the cancer.

Since the currently available therapies for CID only offer partial symptomatic relief, the Company believes that there is a significant medical need for drugs that prevent or decrease the intestinal mucosal damage caused by chemotherapy.

Currently, there are no treatments approved specifically for CID, and all currently used treatments only relieve symptoms without curing the disorder. Currently used treatments for CID include opioids such as loperamide and diphenoxylate and, in severe cases, octreotide (somatostatin analog). While opioids are effective in treating mild forms of diarrhea, they have limited effects in the moderate to severe cases, such as CID.

Home   Legal Disclaimer   Updated: 31.1.2012