Table 1.

Anti-cancer therapy causes of diarrhoea: agents, aetiology and severity³¹

Anti-cancer therapy	Causative agents	Underlying aetiology	Diarrhoea severity
Chemotherapy	5-Fluorouracil Irinotecan Capecitabine Taxanes (eg cabazitaxel, docetaxel) Anthracyclines Platinum salts (eg cisplatin)	Multifactorial process causing imbalances in absorptive and secretory functions of small bowel	Usually not severe, but may be dose-limiting or life-threatening
Targeted therapy	Tyrosine kinase inhibitors VEGFR inhibitors EGFR inhibitors mTOR inhibitors CDK inhibitors PARP inhibitors	Multifactorial process involving secretory, ischaemic, and autoimmune mechanisms	May cause high-grade diarrhoea, particularly severe when combined with chemotherapy
Immunotherapy	Immune-checkpoint inhibitors, particularly anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4	Shares characteristics with inflammatory bowel disease and enterocolitis	Severe, may lead to colon perforation
Radiotherapy	Pelvic radiotherapy Abdominal radiotherapy	Energy absorption or free radical release causing damage to intestinal villi and loss of mucosal integrity	Often mild, but combination with chemotherapy may increase severity
Hormone therapy	Androgen synthesis inhibitors Antiandrogens Antioestrogens		Mild intensity