Platinum-induced ototoxicity: a review of prevailing ototoxicity criteria

The antineoplastic agent’s cisplatin and carboplatin are widely used as they are highly effective. Unfortunately, ototoxicity is a frequently encountered side effect of platinum-based chemotherapy. Clinically, patients generally develop a progressive, bilateral, and irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. With rising cancer survival rates, a greater proportion of patients are living with the side effects of their chemotherapy treatments. Consequently, the quality of life of cancer survivors has now become a major concern for clinicians. Various classification systems are currently available to grade side effects and provide a guideline for subsequent treatments. An extensive review of the literature revealed that a variety of criteria are used worldwide for grading platinum-induced hearing loss in children and adults, including the National Cancer Institute criteria, Brock’s grading system, the American Speech-Hearing-Language Association criteria, the World Health Organization criteria, the Pediatric Oncology Group criteria, and the Muenster classification. Less commonly used criteria include the Chang classification, the Functional Hearing Loss scale, the HIT system (German Hirntumor study grading system), and most recently, the International Society of Pediatric Oncology Boston ototoxicity grading scale. The objective of this review is to evaluate the commonly used ototoxicity criteria and discuss their benefits and limitations.