Nausea and Vomiting Caused by Cancer Treatment
Some cancer treatments can cause nausea and vomiting. The treatments that most often cause this side effect are chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Other treatments, such as targeted drug therapy and immunotherapy, can also cause nausea and vomiting but less often.
Chemotherapy and other medicines to treat cancer
Nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy are often called chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Chemotherapy affects all parts of the body so it is more likely to cause nausea and vomiting than many other cancer treatments.
There are other factors that can help your cancer care team know how likely you are to have nausea and vomiting. Some of these are:
- The dose of the chemotherapy and other anti-cancer medicines you get (higher doses can be more likely to cause nausea and vomiting).
- How the medicines are given (chemo given through a vein may cause nausea and vomiting faster than when it’s given by mouth).
- Having a tumor in the brain, liver, or gastrointestinal tract may increase the risk for nausea and vomiting.
- Taking other medicines (such as pain medicines) that may cause or make nausea or vomiting worse.
- Being constipated.
- Having an infection.
Your risk of nausea and vomiting may also be affected by personal differences, such as if you:
- Are female
- Are younger than 50 years of age
- Had morning sickness during pregnancy
- Are very anxious or nervous
- Have had motion sickness (nausea from motion during travel, like in a car)
- Tend to vomit when you are sick
- Are a non-drinker or light drinker (of alcohol)
- Had nausea and vomiting during cancer treatment in the past
Radiation therapy
Nausea and vomiting can also be caused by radiation therapy. The risk of having these side effects with radiation are related to:
The part of the body being treated. Nausea and vomiting happen more often when people get radiation to the abdomen (belly), liver, or brain. Nausea and vomiting also happen more often when people get radiation to their whole body (total body irradiation (TBI) to get ready for a stem cell or bone marrow transplant.
The dose of radiation and the treatment schedule. The larger the dose of radiation, the higher the risk for nausea and vomiting. Radiation treatment is often given in smaller doses over a period of time to decrease this risk.
If chemotherapy is given along with the radiation. Getting radiation while also getting chemotherapy can increase the risk of nausea and vomiting.
Questions to ask about nausea and vomiting
Ask your cancer care team:
- Is my cancer treatment likely to cause nausea and vomiting?
- Can my nausea and vomiting be prevented or controlled?
- How will you decide which anti-nausea/vomiting treatments I should use?
- How much will the anti-nausea medications cost?
- Do the anti-nausea/vomiting treatments you want me to use have side effects?
- When and how often should I take each medicine?
- What will we do if the treatment doesn’t control my nausea and vomiting?
- At what point do I need to call if I still feel nausea or still vomit after taking the medicine?
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- References
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
American Society of Clinical Oncology. Nausea and vomiting. cancer.net. Accessed March 6, 2024.
Freedman K & Hole A. Gastrointestinal complications. In: Eggert JA, Byar KL & Parks LS, ed. Cancer Basics. Oncology Nursing Society; 2022: 313-331.
Hesketh PJ et al. Antiemetics: ASCO guideline update. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2020;38(24). Accessed at https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.20.01296 on March 11, 2024.
Mathey K. Nausea and vomiting. In: Camp-Sorrel D, Hawkins RA, Cope DG, eds. Clinical Manual for the Advanced Practice Nurse. Oncology Nursing Society; 2022: 509-515.
National Cancer Institute (NCI). Nausea and Vomiting Related to Cancer Treatment (PDQ) – Health Professional Version. Cancer.gov. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/nausea/nausea-hp-pdq on March 8, 2024.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Antiemesis. Version 1.2024. Accessed at https://www.nccn.org/ on March 6, 2024.
Last Revised: June 26, 2024
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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