Active monitoring for adverse drug reactions of microtubule-damaging anti-neoplastic drug in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Cancer is a critical disease characterized by unhampered progress and metastasis of atypical aberrant cells. In India, cancer is a leading cause of increased mortality, and it is also the cause of 3 million deaths per year. Most of the anti-cancer medications originated from plants, and despite the promising anti-cancer effects of natural medications, researchers have encountered various adverse drug reactions (ADR) related to the drug. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives of the study are to analyze the ADR profile of cancer patients treated with microtubule-damaging anti-neoplastic and assess the preventability, severity, and causality of the documented ADR. Materials and Methods: All the cancer patients on treatment regimens containing taxanes undergoing treatment in the medical oncology department were included in this study. All the study participants were monitored for adverse effects, and any ADR reported by the patients that were diagnosed and documented in the case sheet form was recorded in the adverse reaction reporting form. The mean ± standard deviation was performed for continuous variables. Categorical variables were stated in numbers and percentages. Results: A total of sixty study participants with ADR to microtubule-damaging anticancer drugs were registered for the study and among them, 10% were males and 90% were females. The majority of adverse reactions developed in patients between 51 and 60 years of age with female dominance. A total of 114 adverse reactions were reported by the sixty study participants registered in this study, and nevertheless, more than one ADR was noticed in a greater number of patients. Conclusion: Early observation of ADR may help in either modifying the dose or changing the drug that produces adverse reactions so that damage to the organ system can be prevented.