Perspectives on Improving Treatment Strategies

Cisplatin is one of the most widely used and highly effective drug for the treat-ment of various solid tumors; however, it has dose-dependent side effects on the kidney, cochlear, and nerves. Nephrotoxicity is the most well-known and clinically important toxicity. Numerous studies have demonstrated that several mechanisms, including oxidative stress, DNA damage, and inflammatory res-ponses, are closely associated with cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Even though the establishment of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity can be alleviated by diuretics and pre-hydration of patients, the prevalence of cisplatin nephrotoxi-city is still high, occurring in approximately one-third of patients who have under-gone cisplatin therapy. Therefore it is imperative to develop treatments that will ameliorate cisplatin-nephrotoxicity. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of cisplatin-induced renal toxicity and the new strategies for protecting the kid-neys from the toxic effects without lowering the tumoricidal activity