Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2015
New cutaneous toxicities with generic docetaxel: are the excipients guilty?
Docetaxel is one of the most widely used anticancer drugs and an ideal candidate for the development of generic formulations to reduce the economic cost. However, the use of generic drugs is an issue of debate because studies of their safety and efficacy in comparison with the original drug are not required for approval. The aim of this study is to determine whether the change in the formulation of the original drug is responsible for the toxicity changes observed. ⋯ Our study suggests that some toxic effects of docetaxel may be related to the excipients used in different formulations of the drug.
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2015
Assessing the response to opioids in cancer patients: a methodological proposal and the results.
The efficacy of treatment with opioids in cancer pain is variable. To evaluate this variability, we (1) applied two parameters, changes in pain intensity (PI) and opioid daily doses (DDs), to distinguish different responses to opioids. The need to switch to another opioid was recorded. We then (2) evaluated the distribution of the responses depending on these parameters, alone and taken together, in cancer patients with pain. ⋯ Different degrees of response to opioids were observed, PI and DD changes both contributing. Only over half the patients had a full positive response.