Platinum compoundsIn useDerivative of an earlier drugNeeds review
Carboplatin
Also known as Paraplatin, JM8, CBDCA
A cisplatin analogue given by injection and introduced in the 1980s. A 2007 review describes it as safer than cisplatin with a similar spectrum of activity. A 2026 US label lists advanced ovarian carcinoma.
From discovery to approval
c. 1973 · First described
A 2025 review says Cleare and Hoeschele reported carboplatin in 1973; a 2022 review gives 1979 for its synthesis, and the 1973 paper has no abstract to check. A 2026 review says Kenneth R. Harrap and his team led its development in the late 1970s.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
1989-03-03 · FDA regular · 16 years after first description
Carboplatin for injection (Paraplatin), NDA 019880, original approval, classed as a new molecular entity with priority review in the Drugs@FDA history. The original label and letter are not available there, so the indication at approval is not stated here. The type regular is an inference: no accelerated-approval wording was found.[9]
How it works
Like cisplatin, it mainly forms cross-links between DNA strands, and the effect appears not to depend on the cell-cycle phase. Its platinum is activated by water more slowly than cisplatin's, yet the label says both drugs appear to induce equal numbers of DNA cross-links.[1]
Where it came from and why
Cisplatin caused severe kidney toxicity, which created demand for an analogue as effective with fewer side effects. A 1985 review concluded carboplatin had the features most desirable to merit clinical evaluation among eight cisplatin analogues, and an early clinical report found it not significantly nephrotoxic and less emetic than cisplatin.
Cancers
The label lists initial treatment of advanced ovarian carcinoma in combination with other approved chemotherapy, and palliative treatment of recurrent ovarian carcinoma after prior chemotherapy.[1]
Family and partners
Derived from: Cisplatin
Worth knowing
- In an early clinical report, carboplatin was given to 60 patients; thrombocytopenia was dose-limiting, vomiting seldom persisted beyond 24 hours, no significant nephrotoxicity was found, and responses occurred in ovarian carcinoma.[5]
- A 1985 review of eight cisplatin analogues concluded that carboplatin had the features most desirable to merit clinical evaluation.[4]
- In a 1983 phase II study of 36 patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma, 33 of them heavily pretreated, five partial and two complete remissions were seen among 28 evaluable pretreated patients; four of the seven responders had been completely resistant to cisplatin.[10]
- A 2011 review reports two separate events: Bristol-Myers Squibb licensed carboplatin in 1979, and it entered the US market as Paraplatin in 1989.[11]
On this site
- 1996 Paclitaxel with platinum in first line: GOG-111, OV-10, ICON3
- 1997 Carboplatin in place of cisplatin was inferior at trial doses
- 2002 Surveillance and risk-adapted management of stage I seminoma
- 2003 Carboplatin versus cisplatin with paclitaxel: GOG-158, AGO-OVAR-3
- 2004 Cisplatin-paclitaxel and other platinum doublets for advanced disease
- 2004 Chemotherapy for advanced disease: GOG-107, -177 and -209
- 2005 TE19: single-dose carboplatin vs radiotherapy, stage I seminoma
- 2007 High-dose chemotherapy with stem-cell rescue for relapsed disease
- 2008 European trials: rapid induction and busulfan-melphalan consolidation
- 2011 Bevacizumab added to first-line chemotherapy: GOG-218 and ICON7
- 2011 Carboplatin-paclitaxel in thymoma and thymic carcinoma
- 2016 Weekly paclitaxel: JGOG 3016 gain not seen in GOG-262 or ICON8
- 2018 Trastuzumab with chemotherapy in HER2-positive uterine serous cancer
- 2019 GOG-252: IP regimens plus bevacizumab, no significant PFS gain
- 2020 InterAACT: carboplatin-paclitaxel vs cisplatin-fluorouracil, advanced
References
- Natco Pharma USA LLC. Carboplatin injection, solution: prescribing information. DailyMed, set ID 4c89cedc-e48b-445c-ad05-54dbe60e4fb0, published 4 August 2026. Source
- Yusoh NA, Ahmad H, Vallis KA, Gill MR. Advances in platinum-based cancer therapy: overcoming platinum resistance through rational combinatorial strategies. Med Oncol. 2025;42(7):262. PubMedDOI
- Kamusheva MS, Varbanov HP. Current clinical applications and future developments of platinum-based anticancer drugs. J Biol Inorg Chem. 2026;31(6):469-488. PubMedDOI
- Harrap KR. Preclinical studies identifying carboplatin as a viable cisplatin alternative. Cancer Treat Rev. 1985;12 Suppl A:21-33. PubMedDOI
- Calvert AH, Harland SJ, Newell DR, Siddik ZH, Jones AC, McElwain TJ, et al. Early clinical studies with cis-diammine-1,1-cyclobutane dicarboxylate platinum II. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 1982;9(3):140-7. PubMedDOI
- Kelland L. The resurgence of platinum-based cancer chemotherapy. Nat Rev Cancer. 2007;7(8):573-84. PubMedDOI
- Lebwohl D, Canetta R. Clinical development of platinum complexes in cancer therapy: an historical perspective and an update. Eur J Cancer. 1998;34(10):1522-34. PubMedDOI
- Forgie BN, Prakash R, Telleria CM. Revisiting the Anti-Cancer Toxicity of Clinically Approved Platinating Derivatives. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(23). PubMedDOI
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Drugs@FDA: Approval date(s) and history, letters, labels, reviews for NDA 019880 (carboplatin; Paraplatin). Page read 2026-10-25. Source
- Evans BD, Raju KS, Calvert AH, Harland SJ, Wiltshaw E. Phase II study of JM8, a new platinum analog, in advanced ovarian carcinoma. Cancer Treat Rep. 1983;67(11):997-1000. PubMed
- Monneret C. Platinum anticancer drugs. From serendipity to rational design. Ann Pharm Fr. 2011;69(6):286-95. PubMedDOI