The first American cancer patient to receive dicycloplatin chemotherapy: A case report

Abstract

Dicycloplatin (DCP), an effective platinum drug, was developed in China and approved by Chinese FDA in 2012. Its side effects are more bearable than those of cisplatin and carboplatin. The bladder cancer patient presented here was a 65-year-old Caucasian American male diagnosed at West Virginia University (WVU) Hospital in the USA and received 8 weeks of dicycloplatin chemotherapy in Beijing in 2016. He experienced moderate fatigue and aches but no vomiting or hair loss. His blood values decreased but remained in normal range. Quarterly cystoscopic follow-ups at WVU Hospital found no tumor recurrence. Studies of dicycloplatin-induced activation of the molecular signaling pathway in response to DNA damage, including investigation of Chk2, BRCA1 and p53, demonstrated that the signaling pathway is activated only in cancer cells, not in normal cells. Other in vitro data also indicate DCP mainly affects tumor cells, largely bypassing normal cells. These findings may explain DCP's more bearable side effects. Dicycloplatin may offer chemotherapeutic advantages over some platinum drugs in cancer treatment.