Survey of Proper Use of Anticancer Drugs Eliminated through the Kidney due to Establishment of Uniform Dose Reduction Criteria in the Institution

Abstract

When anticancer drugs that are eliminated through the kidney are administered to patients with renal failure, their dosage should be reduced according to renal function to avoid severe side effects associated with delays in elimination. We have established dose reduction criteria for cisplatin, capecitabine, and gimeracil/tegaful/oteracil potassium administered to patients with renal failure, aiming to develop a common viewpoint among the medical staff. The dose reduction criteria were utilized to select the chemotherapy regimens in a conference and to check prescriptions in the pharmacy. After establishing the dose reduction criteria, improper dose and/or regimen administered patients with renal failure were decreased significantly. This suggests that the establishment of dose reduction criteria contributed to the proper use of anticancer drugs eliminated through the kidney in patients with renal failure. However, it is necessary to accumulate clinical evidence evaluating whether dose reduction results in a reduced incidence of side effects.