Effectiveness of medical supportive team for outpatients treated with sorafenib: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND It is well known that molecular-targeted drugs, of which sorafenib (Nexavar®) is one, differ from previous anticancer drugs and cause various unusual adverse drug reactions. Treatment with sorafenib causes adverse drug reactions such as hand-foot skin reactions, hypertension, and diarrhea. Physicians spend a lot of time monitoring adverse drug reactions to sorafenib in outpatients. As such, at Okayama University Hospital, pharmacists and nurses have organized a medical supportive team to help physicians in this regard. However, the effectiveness of interventions for sorafenib-treated outpatients by this medical supportive team remains unclear. The purpose of this study was thus to clarify the effectiveness of interventions for sorafenib-treated outpatients by this medical supportive team. METHODS We retrospectively studied 70 outpatients treated with sorafenib between May 2009 and December 2012 at Okayama University Hospital. These outpatients were classified into two groups, an intervention group (31 outpatients) and a non-intervention group (39 outpatients). We compared the duration of sorafenib treatment between these groups. RESULTS The duration of treatment with sorafenib was significantly longer in the intervention group than in the non-intervention group. No outpatients in the intervention group discontinued sorafenib due to adverse drug reactions such as hand-foot skin reactions or diarrhea. CONCLUSION The duration of sorafenib treatment was significantly longer in the intervention group than in the non-intervention group. Our findings suggest that interventions by the medical supportive team consisting of health care professionals were effective in preventing the discontinuation of sorafenib.