D.1.
Liver damage
Liver is a vital organ and has a
wide range of functions. Liver produces bile to aid in digestion through the
emulsification of lipids and plays a major role in metabolism. Other functions
of liver include hormone production, decomposition of red blood cells (RBCs), plasma
protein synthesis, and detoxification of small and complex molecules.
Theoretically, all drugs are
associated with certain toxicity (but to different extents) and liver is the
major organ that is supposed to “detoxify” the drugs mainly by breaking down
the drugs into metabolite(s). The other way for liver to make a drug less toxic
is to make it more water soluble, thus more easily excreted out of the body and
reduce potential toxicity. However, a small percentage of drugs are able to
evade the “protection mechanism” by the liver. In this case, the drugs pass
through the body’s major detoxifying guard (liver), damage liver, and move to
other organs to exert other side effects.
A typical example of anticancer
drugs with potential liver toxicity is cisplatin. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors
are also associated with potential liver toxicity. Recently, the FDA required a
“black box warnings” to be included on labels of several anticancer drugs to
indicate the increased risk of liver injury including some tyrosine kinase
inhibitors.
© Jiajiu Shaw, 2020
Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book, "SIDE EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY", prepared by Dr. Jiajiu Shaw, Dr. Frederick Valeriote, and Dr. Ben Chen.
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