Pattern and impact of drugs targeted toward toxicity amelioration in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Drug therapy today is remarkably safe and efficacious. Still, some drugs - particularly anticancer drugs - are fraught with numerous adverse drug reactions (ADRs), severely jeopardizing quality of life of cancer patients. Fortunately, most of these ADRs are preventable provided adequate prophylactic drugs are administered along with chemotherapy. AIMS: The aim of this study is to assess the pattern and impact of cytoprotective prophylactic drugs on anticancer ADRs in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We included 200 patients receiving anticancer therapy for the first time. Patient details and for each cycle: details of baseline investigations, anticancer treatment given, ADRs observed and interventions done to prevent and manage the ADRs were recorded. Preventability and predictability scales were applied to assess the impact of drugs and strategies toward toxicity amelioration. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Adjuvant drugs were administered prophylactically along with anticancer drugs for the prevention of nausea and vomiting, gastritis, immediate allergic reactions, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, hemorrhagic cystitis, and other anticipated ADRs. About 94.80% reactions were found to be predictable and 5.20% unpredictable. Maximum reactions (56.47%) were probably preventable. Paracetamol, filgrastim, mucaine, etc., were used to manage a variety of ADRs. CONCLUSIONS: Although the predictability of ADRs was almost 95%, we could prevent only about 56% of them. Surprisingly, we have no ADRs that appear definitely preventable. This could be due to less attention being paid to the ADRs that could have been prevented by the appropriate use of prophylactic measures.