[Issues of oral targeted therapies in daily clinical practice: 5th edition of the congress of pharmacology of anticancer drugs]

Bull Cancer. 2018 Nov;105(11):1102-1109. doi: 10.1016/j.bulcan.2018.08.005. Epub 2018 Oct 8.
[Article in French]

Abstract

Oral targeted therapies are a growing class of medication. After clinical trials conducted on a selected population, these molecules are usually approved at a fixed dose. However, oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors are characterized by a large intra and inter-individual pharmacokinetic variability, and a narrow therapeutic index. Hence, their prescription is hazardous and unsafe in non-selected people from daily clinical practice. The increasing number of available targeted therapies point out new challenges. These challenges should especially concern prescription for out of the ordinary patients, rules for dose adjustment according to factors of frailty. The ultimate goal is to ensure a safe and individualized prescription. Moreover, many of these molecules are metabolized by the CYP3A4, leading to a serious risk of drug interaction. These interactions might involve not only conventional medicine but also alternative and complementary medicines. These latter are more and more common but oncologists often lack experience about them. Finally, the oral route raises the issues of adherence, and the question of its assessment should now become a permanent part of patients care.

Keywords: Drug interaction; Inhibiteurs de tyrosine kinase; Interactions médicamenteuses; Medication adherence; Médecine de précision; Observance; Precision medicine; Suivi thérapeutique pharmacologique; Targeted therapy; Therapeutic drug monitoring; Thérapie ciblée; Tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Publication types

  • Congress

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / adverse effects
  • Drug Interactions
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / chemically induced
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy / methods
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Precision Medicine / methods*
  • Precision Medicine / trends
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors