Venkatraman Radhakrishnan, Consultant of Medical and Pediatric Oncology at Cancer Institute, Adyar, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Pleased to share that our phase 3 randomized pediatric antiemetic trial (CIVIC POD), evaluating a steroid-sparing strategy for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in children receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy, has been featured in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Daily News and will be presented as an oral presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2026 in Chicago.
The study was conducted as a multicenter trial through the Indian Pediatric Hematology Oncology Group (INPHOG) network across participating centers in India. Cancer Institute (WIA) was the lead center.
The study evaluated a dexamethasone-free regimen using fosaprepitant, palonosetron, and olanzapine and demonstrated comparable control of CINV to dexamethasone-containing prophylaxis.
These findings are clinically important because corticosteroids, while effective antiemetics, are associated with cumulative metabolic, growth, neuropsychological, infection-related, and bone toxicities, particularly in children receiving repeated cycles of chemotherapy. A successful steroid-sparing approach may help optimize supportive care while reducing corticosteroid exposure without compromising antiemetic efficacy.
We are grateful to the patients, families, and investigators (Dr. Sameer Bakhshi, amita mahajan, Prasanth Ganesan, Ramandeep Arora, and Shuvadeep Ganguly, Deepam Pushpam, Dr. Swaminathan Keerthivasagam, Dr. Aparajita Sharma, Aastha Goel, Dr. Swathi PM, and Swaminathan Rajaraman), as well as the collaborating centers (Cancer Institute (WIA), AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi), Kasturba Medical College Manipal, Max Healthcare New Delhi, Jawaharlal Institute Of Postgraduate Medical Education And Research (JIPMER)), who contributed to this study.
Special thanks to my colleagues Dr. Prasanth Srinivasan, Dr. Gargi Das, and Dr. Balaji TK.
We also acknowledge CanKids KidsCan for supporting antiemetic access for some participating centers during the trial.”
Other articles featuring Venkatraman Radhakrishnan on OncoDaily.