Clinical aspects of hearing loss associated with cisplatin therapy – a review

Introduction: Cisplatin is a well known platinum-based chemotherapeutic agent used for the treatment of diverse malignant tumours. A frequent side effect of cisplatin therapy is ototoxicity. Material and methods: Experimental, clinical studies and reviews from the English language medical literature concerning ototoxicity were selected either from PubMed or printed medical journals, pointing out cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. Molecular mechanisms, clinical audiological and histological marks of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity as well as current experimental and clinical strategies for prevention or treatment of hearing loss were reviewed. Results and discussion: A wide range of otoprotective molecules and efficient strategies against cisplatin-induced hearing loss proved to be helpful in experimental studies whereas only dexamethasone settled a slight otoprotective effect in a clinical study. Conclusion: There is no currently available treatment for cisplatin associated hearing loss and further research is required for future therapeutic options.