241P - The Correlates of Dose Reduction in Chemotherapy for Patients with Common Cancers. a Prospective Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim: Dose reduction in chemotherapy may compromise survival and chance of cure for cancer patients. It is not clearly known when and for whom clinicians prescribe dose reductions while administering chemotherapy. Our group decided to evaluate prospectively factors that are correlated with chemotherapy dose reduction or occurrence of febrile neutropenia. This report focuses on the correlates of dose reduction in chemotherapy. Methods: Consecutive breast, lung and colorectal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at the outpatient units or on the oncology wards, encompassing a period of 4 years (between 2007 and 2011), were prospectively recruited in this study. Two teaching hospitals (one university hospital and one state hospital) collaborated for this project. Local ethical committee approval was obtained prior to onset of the study. Patient, disease, and treatment characteristics were then correlated with the occurrence of any dose reduction during chemotherapy with a certain protocol. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to investigate the predictors of chemotherapy dose reduction. Results: A total of 2928 cycles of chemotherapy in 1089 patients with at least one cycle of prior treatment with the same protocol were investigated. Dose reduction was made in 309 cycles (10.6% of total cycles). The correlates of dose reduction in multivariate analysis were type of hospital (Exp (B) = 45.55, P Conclusions: This study suggests some novel correlates of dose reduction in patients receiving chemotherapy for common cancers. It may be beneficial to take these factors into account to personalize the risk for dose reduction as well as to optimize measures to sustain the dosage of chemotherapeutics. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.