Tens of thousands of cancer patients in the UK are having their hearing unnecessarily placed at risk by cancer treatments, a new report claims.

The RNID, which represents the nine million deaf and hard of hearing people in Britain, is calling on the pharmaceutical industry to work harder to develop drugs that may block the damaging effects of a particular chemotherapy treatment in order to make cisplatin more effective.

Cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy, is one of the most effective anti-tumour agents. However, it causes damage to the inner ear and can result in hearing loss, balance problems and tinnitus in patients. Medical experts have been aware of this risk for some time, but drugs have been identified that may block the side effects without affecting the drug's cancer-beating performance.

The RNID is calling for more research and investment into trials of these drugs, with the help of a leading cancer expert, Penelope Brock, consultant paediatric oncologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The charity claims that pharmaceutical industry is "dragging its heels, and ignoring the needs of people with hearing loss".

Munna Vio, RNID commercial research manager, commented: "The pharmaceutical industry should seize this opportunity to deliver vital drugs to protect the hearing of cancer patients. RNID is committed to funding research into this area and is already supporting projects that could lead to new ways of protecting hearing from ototoxic drugs."

Cisplatin is used to treat 68,000 cancer patients each year in the UK and has been in clinical use since the 1970s. It is used for 30 per cent of all paediatric cancers and around 25 per cent of all adult cancers.



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