RECENTLY RECOGNIZED COMPLICATIONS OF CANCER CHEMOTHERAPY

With the increasing effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy and prolongation of life achieved by such therapy in certain patients, chronic complications have become manifest. A population of patients treated for malignant lymphomas at our Institution has formed the basis of ongoing studies of both acute and longterm complications of their therapy. Recently described chronic complications associated with the therapy of these patients include male and the development of second malignant turn or^.^ Fatal hyperkalemia represents a unique acute complication of intensive chemotherapy of Burkitt’s lymphoma patient^,^ which reflects the extraordinary ability of cytotoxic drug therapy to selectively kill certain neoplastic cells. In view of the relatively young mean age of patients with malignant lymphomas and the increasing ability of intensive chemotherapeutic and radiotherapeutic regimens to achieve prolonged survivals free of disease, questions such as the effect of therapy on fertility and the influence of therapy on the risk of developing new neoplastic disease have become of increasing concern. It seems timely to review these recently recognized complications, because the intensive therapeutic regimens with which they have been associated will probably find more widespread utilization.