What is the Difference Between Carboplatin and Cisplatin

The key difference between carboplatin and cisplatin is that carboplatin shows less consistent survival advantages, whereas cisplatin shows more consistent survival advantages in meta-analyses of palliative chemotherapy.

Carboplatin and cisplatin are medications with different toxicity profiles. These are important in meta-analyzes of palliative chemotherapy.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Carboplatin
3. What is Cisplatin
4. Carboplatin vs Cisplatin in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Carboplatin vs Cisplatin

What is Carboplatin?

Carboplatin is a chemotherapy treatment for many different types of cancer. This drug is in the market under the trade name Paraplatin. The most common forms of cancer that this drug can treat include ovarian cancer, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, brain cancer, and neuroblastoma. We can administer it as an injection into a vein.

Carboplatin vs Cisplatin in Tabular Form

Figure 01: The Chemical Structure of Carboplatin

The side effects that generally occur from this medication include low blood cell levels, nausea, and electrolyte problems. There can also be allergic reactions and increased risks for another cancer in the future. Moreover, the use of this drug during pregnancy can have harmful effects on the baby.

The chemical formula of this compound is C₆H₁₂N₂O₄Pt. The molar mass of this compound is 371.256 g/mol. It is a second-generation platinum compound having a wide spectrum of antineoplastic properties. Moreover, it contains a platinum atom that makes a complex with two ammonia groups and a cyclobutane-dicarboxyl residue. It works by inhibiting the duplication of DNA.

The hydrogen bond donor count of carboplatin is 4, and the hydrogen bond acceptor count is 6. The rotatable bond count can be given as 0. This compound has a heavy atom count of 13 and its formal charge zero. However, we can indicate the complexity of carboplatin as 177 degrees. It appears as white crystals and forms a sol in water. Moreover, it shows poor solubility in methanol, chloroform, dimethylsulfoxide, acetic acid, and trifluoroacetic acid. Further, when carboplatin is heated to decomposition, it tends to emit toxic fumes of nitrogen oxides.

What is Cisplatin?

Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug useful in treating testicular, ovarian, bladder, head and neck, lung, and cervical cancer. This compound is the prototype platinum coordination complex classified as an alkylating agent and is useful intravenously in treating several forms of cancer. This medication has been associated with a low rate of serum enzyme elevations, and there are rare cases of clinically apparent, acute liver injury.

The chemical formula of cisplatin is C_l2H₆N₂Pt. Another name for this compound is diamine(dichloro)platinum. The molar mass can be given as 300.05 g/mol. The IUPAC name of this compound is azane;dichloroplatinum. The hydrogen bond donor count of cisplatin is 2, while the hydrogen bond acceptor count is the same. However, it has no rotatable bond count (zero). The heavy atom count of this compound is 5, while the formal charge is zero. Its complexity is very low and is around 7.6 degrees.

When considering the stability of this compound, in its solution state, the aqueous solutions tend to decompose in two steps to a compound having two water molecules that replace the two chlorine atoms.

What is the Difference Between Carboplatin and Cisplatin?

The key difference between carboplatin and cisplatin is that carboplatin shows less consistent survival advantages, whereas cisplatin shows more consistent survival advantages in meta-analyses of palliative chemotherapy. Moreover, carboplatin has a higher risk of myelosuppression and neurotoxicity, while cisplatin is associated with a higher rate of nausea, vomiting, nephrotoxicity, and ototoxicity.

The below infographic presents the differences between carboplatin and cisplatin in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Carboplatin vs Cisplatin

Carboplatin is a chemotherapy treatment for many different types of cancer, including head and neck cancer, brain cancer, and neuroblastoma. Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug useful in treating testicular, ovarian, bladder, head and neck, lung, and cervical cancer. The key difference between carboplatin and cisplatin is that carboplatin shows less consistent survival advantages whereas cisplatin shows more consistent survival advantages in meta-analyses of palliative chemotherapy.