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Antineoplastic drugs, commonly used in cancer treatment, can lead to a variety of side effects due to their action on rapidly dividing cells, not only cancerous cells. Alopecia, nausea and vomiting, and stomatitis are well-documented side effects associated with these drugs.
Alopecia, or hair loss, occurs because antineoplastic agents not only target cancer cells but also affect all rapidly dividing cells, including those in hair follicles.
Nausea and vomiting are frequently experienced side effects due to the impact of these drugs on the gastrointestinal tract and the trigger of the chemoreceptor trigger zone in the brain.
Stomatitis, or inflammation of the mucous membranes in the mouth, is another common effect, resulting from the damage that these drugs can inflict on the rapidly dividing cells in the oral cavity.
In contrast, while some antineoplastic treatments can indeed lead to pulmonary toxicity, it is not considered a common side effect across all antineoplastic medications. Pulmonary toxicity is typically associated with specific drugs or certain classes of chemotherapy and is not as universally experienced as the other side effects mentioned. Hence, identifying pulmonary toxicity as not commonly associated with antineoplastic drugs reflects an understanding of the varying side effect profiles of these medications.