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CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Oxaliplatin is one of the chemotherapy regimens most used for treating colorectal cancer. One of the main limitations to its use is induction of peripheral neuropathy. Previous studies have shown that vitamin E can reduce the incidence of peripheral neuropathy by 50%. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of vitamin E for prevention of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. DESIGN AND SETTING Prospective, phase II, randomized pilot study developed at a university hospital in the Greater ABC region. METHODS Patients were randomized five days before starting oxaliplatin treatment, to receive either vitamin E or placebo until the end of the chemotherapy regimen. The outcome was evaluated using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), version 3, and specific gradation scales for oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. Patients with colorectal and gastric cancer who had been scheduled to receive oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy were included. Both groups received calcium and magnesium supplementation before and after oxaliplatin infusions. RESULTS Eighteen patients were randomized to the vitamin E group and 16 to the placebo group. Cumulative incidence of 83% with peripheral neuropathy grades 1/2 was observed in the vitamin E group, versus 68% in the placebo group (P = 0.45). A trend towards more diarrhea was observed among patients who received vitamin E (55.6% vs. 18.8%; P = 0.06). There were no other significant differences in toxicity between the groups. CONCLUSIONS No significant decrease in the incidence of acute oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy was demonstrated through vitamin E use. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NCT01523574.

A presente dissertação de mestrado estuda o fenómeno do humor. Em primeiro lugar, apresenta-se argumento próprio sobre o mesmo, sustentando a ideia de acordo com a qual o humor compõe «juízo lúdico» que tenta reescrever a relação de cada um com o mundo. O trabalho estuda em seguida a ideia de riso como resultado de percepção de superioridade, comentado os juízos de Platão, Aristóteles, René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes e Henri Bergson. A dissertação analisa adiante a segunda grande ideia sobre humor: a da incongruência. O trabalho estuda as considerações de Francis Hutcheson, James Beattie, George Campbell, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, William Hazlitt e Søren Kierkegaard. O trabalho estuda em seguida a ideia de alívio, a qual defende a ideia segundo a qual o riso resulta da descarga de pressões nervosas. O estudo comenta as opiniões de Anthony Ashley Cooper, Herbert Spencer, Alexander Bain, John Dewey e Sigmund Freud. Por fim, a dissertação apresenta o humor como acto de bondade que constitui estratégia para reagir ao sofrimento, reduzindo o medo da morte. This dissertation studies the phenomenon of humor. First, there is an argument about the same, supporting the idea that humor composes "playful judgment" that tries to rewrite the relationship of each with the world. The work then studies the idea of laughter as a result of perceived superiority, commented on the judgments of Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes and Henri Bergson. The dissertation analyzes the second great idea about humor: that of incongruity. The paper studies the considerations of Francis Hutcheson, James Beattie, George Campbell, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, William Hazlitt and Søren Kierkegaard. The work then studies the idea of relief, which defends the idea that laughter results from the discharge of nervous pressures. The study comments on the views of Anthony Ashley Cooper, Herbert Spencer, Alexander Bain, John Dewey and Sigmund Freud. Finally, the dissertation presents humor as an act of kindness that constitutes a strategy to react to suffering, reducing the fear of death.