Chemotherapy is more toxic when older people with cancer take multiple medications, including regular medications such as blood pressure medications, supplements and antacids, according to a new study from the Wilmot Cancer Institute. side effects can occur, and cancer treatment may even need to be discontinued.
latest researchpublished in magazines cancer, alerts both patients and physicians to “polypharmacy,” a buzzword that describes the simultaneous use of multiple drugs. This is very common and applies to almost 92% of older people with cancer.
Key Finding: People with one or more possible drug interactions were 59% more likely to have to stop cancer treatment earlier than recommended.
“Polypharmacy can affect both the experience and efficacy of chemotherapy,” said Erika Ramsdale, MD, Wilmot oncologist, geriatric expert, data scientist and senior author of the paper. said.
Last year, Ramsdale and colleagues Published descriptive research It showed a range of polypharmacy problems and categorized medication problems in a national sample of 718 adults with stage 3 or 4 cancer and other health conditions with a mean age of 77 years.Read more.
In that first study, researchers showed that the majority of patients had at least one other major health concern, often cardiovascular disease. Here are some other details:
- 70% were at risk for drug-drug interactions.
- 67% were taking at least one potentially inappropriate drug.
- Sixty-one percent of patients were on five or more medications before starting chemotherapy.
- Nearly 15% were taking 10 or more medications.
Both studies suggest that physicians should carefully screen new patients for cancer diagnosis for medication use and possible drug interactions.
