Anticipatory Nausea and Vomiting with Chemotherapy

Abstract

To the Editor: The editorial by Laszlo and Lucas in the October 15 issue,¹ along with a recent review by Seigel and Longo,² shows that attention is being paid to the side effects of nausea and emesis as potentially limiting factors in some forms of chemotherapy. New antiemetic agents such as tetrahydrocannabinol³ and metoclopramide⁴ may prove useful in controlling these side effects after chemotherapy. Comparatively little is known, however, about emetic side effects that occur before a given treatment — anticipatory nausea and vomiting. Anticipatory side effects have been noted in case reports⁵; to our knowledge, the prevalence of . . .