Call to adjust chemo dosing for obesity

摘要

CONSISTENT guidance around dosing chemotherapy for obese patients is needed in the UK, members of the British Oncology Pharmacy Association said after attending a session on the topic at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois (1-5 June 2012).According to data presented at the meeting, obese patients might not be receiving high enough doses of cytotoxic drugs because of practices such as capping doses at a body surface area of 2m2.In one of a series of BOPA webcasts published during the meeting, BOPA chairman David Thomson said there is a huge disparity in UK practice and suggested that BOPA might help develop national best-practice guidelines for chemotherapy dosing in obese patients.Ewan Morrison, BOPA member and lead pharmacist for the South East of Scotland Cancer Network, added: "Pharmacists are ideally positioned for leading this work, both for the implementation and ... maintenance."