Prescription of Antineoplastic Agents in Management of Breast Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Hospital in North-Central Nigeria.
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
Abstract
The therapeutic management and prognosis of breast cancer (BCa) has undergone a significant reformation using antineoplastic agents. Despite their use at the study site, dearth of information on their prescription has attracted concerns. Hence, this research was conducted to assess the prescription of antineoplastic agents in management of BCa patients at a teaching hospital in North-Central Nigeria. It was conducted at the oncology clinic of a teaching hospital, Nigeria. It involved the interview of 60 eligible BCa patients using structured questionnaire and data extraction from patients’ medical folders. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 was used for quantitative data entry and analyses. Ethical approval was obtained from relevant Ethical Review Committee. Patients’ consents were obtained before inclusion into the study. The study showed that 93. 3% of the study participants were married, 50% had primary education and the modal age class was 31 – 40 years. The modal class for duration of illness since diagnosis was 1 – 5 years. More than three-fifth of the study participants (63.3%) were on cancer chemotherapy, the highest cancer chemotherapy cycle was 7 while the highest proportion of the study participants (15%) had 6 cycles of cancer chemotherapy. Cancer chemotherapy combination regimen included Doxorubicin+Cyclophosphamide+5-Fluorouracil, Doxorubicin + Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin+Cyclophosphamide+Docetaxel. Tamoxifen was the most prescribed antineoplastic agent (66.7%) either as neoadjuvant or adjuvant, followed by Cyclophosphamide (41.7%). Antineoplastic agents administered were in line with recommendations for the management of BCa. However, the high number of cancer chemotherapy cycles calls for intervention.
Description
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Keywords
Breast Cancer, Antineoplastic Agents, Cancer Chemotherapy, Teaching Hospital, Nigeria
Citation
Williams, F.E., Agodirin, S.O., Bello, S.I., Bello, N.O. & Jimoh, H.K. (2018). Prescription of Antineoplastic Agents in Management of Breast Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Hospital in North-Central Nigeria. Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Development and Practice. 2(2) 52-60.