Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance Access originally published online on October 30, 2009
JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2009 101(22):1534-1536; doi:10.1093/jnci/djp421
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© Oxford University Press 2009.
NEWS |
Increase in Oral Cancer Drugs Raises Thorny Issues for Oncology Practices
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The recent announcement of the prestigious 2009 Lasker clinical research award to the developers of imatinib (Gleevec) recognizes the advent of a new generation of targeted therapies, many of them taken as pills, that have transformed cancer treatment for many patients. In the last 5–10 years, oral agents such as gefitinib, erlotinib, lapatinib, and capecitabine have followed imatinib. And more are on the way. According to a 2008 National Comprehensive Cancer Network task force report, at least one-fourth of all chemotherapy agents now in development are expected to be delivered orally.
For some patients, oral agents have replaced the long sessions in doctors’ offices where intravenous (i.v.) chemotherapy drugs are administered in specially equipped and staffed infusion rooms. And for oncology practices, the agents have raised a series of management issues, including strained finances and new demands on staff time. Systems to ensure patient safety and adherence to oral chemotherapy
Patient Adherence