Purpose: The aim of our study was to elucidate whether the fluid retention syndrome induced by docetaxel is caused by capillary protein leakage or by other mechanisms.
Patients and methods: Twenty-four patients with advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC; 23 patients) or metastatic head and neck cancer (one patient) were included on this prospective, nonrandomized trial. Docetaxel 100 mg/m2 was administered every 3 weeks with 5 days of dexamethasone prophylaxis to avoid hypersensitivity reactions and edema formation. Transcapillary forces, ie, colloid osmotic pressure of plasma (COPpl) and interstitial fluid (COPint) and interstitial hydrostatic pressure (Pint), were measured before the start of treatment and after total docetaxel doses of 200 and 500 mg/m2 by means of the well-documented wick and wick-in-needle methods. Body weight, degree of edema, blood pressure, and heart rate and hemoglobin, hematocrit, albumin, and total protein values were registered in parallel.
Results: After a total docetaxel dose of 200 mg/m2, COPpl, COPint, and hemoglobin, hematocrit, albumin, and total protein values had decreased significantly; Pint and body weight were unchanged; and only mild edema was observed. These findings suggest a plasma volume increase followed by enhanced fluid filtration to the interstitium. After a cumulative docetaxel dose of 500 mg/m2, the COPpl continued to decrease significantly, but COPint remained unchanged despite a significant increase in mean body weight and edema formation. These observations support the theory of a capillary protein leakage.
Conclusion: Docetaxel appears to induce an initial enhancement of fluid filtration followed by a capillary protein leakage that leads to edema formation.