PATTERN OF ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS OF ANTICANCER DRUGS USED IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Abstract

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are one the leading causes of morbidity, so monitoring adverse drug  reactions are helpful in improving patientsquality of life.  Anti-cancer drugs are prone to cause ADRs and there is lack of pharmacovigilance data on such drugs. The aim of our study is to monitor the pattern of adverse drug reactions of anticancer drugs in patients with breast cancer in a tertiary care hospital. The study was conducted in Department of Oncology of Govt. Stanley Medical College, Chennai as an open observational study . Adverse drug reactions are   monitored and documented using a questionnaire based adverse drug reaction reporting form drafted from CDSCO. Out of the total 60 patients,54 patients ( 90) reported of   having adverse drug reactions. Nauseavomiting was the more predominant adverse drug reactions. Causality assessment using Naranjos algorithm, 96.3 of adverse reactions were classified as possible and 3.7 were classified under probable adverse reactions. The adverse event prevalence suggests that practically all patients receiving cytotoxic drugs suffer one or more ADRs. So, early detection of drug toxicity may help in modifying the doses and premedication can be given to  minimize the toxic effects. Similar studies if conducted in other centres will be able to tell us the percentage of such adverse drug reactions and incidence of other adverse drug reactions which were not occurred in this study.