Articles

Systematic application of oncology clinical pathways can reduce variation in cancer disease management and result in significant overall savings, said Jim Koeller, MS, at the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association 9th Annual Conference

Pharmacists can play a role in overcoming patients’ financial and personal obstacles to oral chemotherapy.

Extremely high levels of methotrexate can lead to precipitation of the drug in the renal tubules, delayed drug clearance, and the potential for acute renal failure.

About 3% to 5% of the general population is believed to have a mutation in the gene that encodes a major 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) metabolizing enzyme.

The clinical response to regorafenib does not depend on tumor mutations. Among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who participated in the phase 3 CORRECT (Colorectal Cancer Treated With Regorafenib or Placebo After Failure of Standard Therapy) study, an analysis of tumor specimens for KRAS and PIK3CA mutations did not predict clinical benefit in the patients assigned to regorafenib compared with placebo, said Michael Jeffers, PhD. He presented the results of the study at the 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

This issue of The Oncology Pharmacist (TOP) offers the first in a series of articles about oncology pharmacy safety and issues related to hazardous materials in the workplace.

The following are a few abstracts of interest from the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Studies have suggested that musculoskeletal toxicity associated with aromatase inhibitor therapy can lead to noncompliance in up to one-third of women with breast cancer.

Adverse effects (AEs) with regorafenib tend to occur early—during the first treatment cycle—and then quickly taper off.

Pharmacists can serve as an important information portal for access to investigational drugs through clinical trials or via expanded-access mechanisms.