1.Successful treatment of pruritus with mirtazapine in a patient with advanced cancer
Hiroto Araki ; Kousuke Yamanaka
Palliative Care Research 2012;7(1):510-513
Purpose: To report a case of successful treatment of pruritus with mirtazapine in a patient with advanced cancer. Case summary: A male patient in his seventies with advanced malignant lymphoma had pruritus. The patient began to have pruritus within a few days after starting anti-epilepsy treatment. Oral mirtazapine was administered at a dose of 15 mg/day. Within 2 days, the patient showed partial improvement of his symptoms. After 7 days of mirtazapine therapy, the pruritus significantly improved. While the patient was taking a dose of 15 mg/day, he remained asymptomatic. Conclusion: There are only a few reports (none in Japan) showing the effectiveness of mirtazapine against pruritus in patients with advanced cancer. Although the mechanism of the pruritus-relieving effect of mirtazapine is not fully understood, this case report indicates that mirtazapine may help in the treatment of patients suffering from intractable pruritus.
2.A successful treatment using gabapentin against hot flashes due to LH-RH agonist in a patient with advanced prostate cancer
Hiroto Araki ; Kousuke Yamanaka ; Takashi Sakai ; Meiko Matsuura ; Misuzu Okai ; Tomoharu Tanaka ; Yukiko Saito ; Hiromi Aonuma ; Kenji Mukai ; Naoyuki Katayama ; Junichi Saito
Palliative Care Research 2009;4(2):334-338
Purpose: To report a case of successful treatment using gabapentin against hot flashes due to LH-RH agonist in a patient with advanced prostate cancer. Case summary: A male patient in his seventies with advanced prostate cancer had hot flashes due to LH-RH agonist therapy. The patient began to notice hot flashes within a few months after starting hormone treatment. Oral gabapentin was administered at a starting dose of 400mg/day and was gradually escalated to 1,200mg/day. Within 7 days of administration, the patient achieved a partial improvement of his symptoms. After 17 days of gabapentin therapy, the hot flashes significantly improved. While the patient was taking a maintenance dose of 1,200mg/day, he remained to be asymptomatic. Conclusion: There are only a few reports (none in Japan) that show effectiveness of gabapentin against hot flashes due to hormone treatment in male patients with prostate cancer. Although the mechanism of the hot flash-relieving effect of gabapentin is not fully understood, this case report indicates that gabapentin may help treating patients suffering from intractable hot flashes. Palliat Care Res 2009; 4(2): 334-338
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