Prescribing oral chemotherapy

The use of oral anticancer agents for the treatment of common malignancies has increased over the past few years. Of about 300 new anticancer agents in development, 20-25% are oral products.1 Many novel “target agents” such as inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (for example, erlotinib) and the vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (for example, sunitinib and sorafenib) are given orally. Patients prefer oral agents because they are more convenient, allow greater autonomy, and avoid venepuncture and the associated risks of indwelling venous catheters.2

Despite the advantages of oral anticancer agents, they do pose challenges such as poor compliance, a small but definite risk of unintentional overdose, and a greater risk of drug-drug and drug-food interactions. …