Background In September 2011, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the use of abiraterone for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in men whose disease had progressed on docetaxel-based chemotherapy. In March 2012, abiraterone was included for this indication in our hospital’s formulary. Purpose To assess the prescription profile of abiraterone for metastatic prostate cancer in a tertiary hospital. Materials and methods All patients treated with abiraterone for metastatic prostate cancer during the study period (March 2012–September 2013) were included. Recorded variables were: age, performance status (ECOG), diagnosis date, type of metastasis, doses of abiraterone and start date, prior chemotherapy, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) when starting abiraterone. We checked that patient characteristics were consistent with the criteria for use of abiraterone in our hospital. Results 35 patients started treatment with 1000 mg/24 h of abiraterone during the study period. The median (p25, p75) age was 77.8 (70.7, 82.0) years old. ECOG was: 0–1 (60% patients), ≥ 2 (22.9% patients) and unknown (17.1% patients). The median time since cancer diagnosis was 5.6 (3.1, 8.3) years. 100% of patients had bone metastases, and 44.1% of them also had lymph node metastases, 11.8% lymph node and lung, 5.9% lymph node and liver, 4.4% liver, and 4.4% liver and lymph node metastases. 100% of patients were on hormone treatment and all received docetaxel after progression to chemical castration (14.3% of them received docetaxel + cortisone). The median time of treatment with docetaxel was 7.0 (5.0, 8.6) months. After progression on docetaxel, 20% were treated with cabazitaxel before starting abiraterone. The median PSA at initiation of treatment with abiraterone was 68.9 (22.9,197.5) mcg/l. Conclusions All patients had at least bone metastases and the disease had progressed on hormone treatment and docetaxel. Abiraterone prescription was consistent with the use criteria in our hospital in all cases. No conflict of interest.

BackgroundMucositis is one of the most frequent complications in patients receiving chemotherapy. Currently there is no standard treatment, and its management is essentially based on adequate oral hygiene and mouthwashes. In our hospital, the pharmacy department compounds an oral suspension of 250 ml of sodium bicarbonate 3.5 g, gentamycin 47 mg, hydrocortisone 58 mg, nystatin 3 000 000 UI and mepivacaine 50 mg.PurposeThe objective was to evaluate the profile of use of the mucositis compounded suspension (MCS) in patients with mucositis induced by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy during their hospital stay.Material and methodsObservational, descriptive, retrospective cohort study. Patients that developed mucositis during their hospital stay between September 2014 and June 2015 were included.The electronic prescriptions and medical records were reviewed and the following data were collected: patient characteristics (age, gender), clinical variables (presence of mucositis and grade, neutropenia and opportunistic infections), suspected treatment causing mucositis, drugs involved and treatment of the mucositis (use of MCS, dosage regimen, use of other drugs, date of resolution). The severity of mucositis was assessed using the World Health Organisation toxicity scale (grade I, II, III, IV).Results70 patients were included (80% women). Median age was 69 years (SD 1.85). Mucositis severity: grade I (65%), II (24%), III and IV (11%). At admission, 32% of patients presented with neutropenia and 57% also opportunistic infections.Suspected causes of mucositis were chemotherapy (73%) and radiotherapy (27%). The drugs that were most associated with mucositis were: cisplatin (14%), etoposide (13%), oxaliplatino (11%) and 5-fluorouracil (9%).All patients received MCS for the treatment of mucositis. The dosage regimens were: every 8 h (87%), every 6 h (5%), every 12 h (3%) and every 4 h (1%). Median duration of treatment was 6 days (IQR 3–12). No adverse reaction to MCS was recorded. In 35% of patients, other drugs were used: bicarbonate (47%), lidocaine (50%), nystatin (41%) and chlorhexidine (7%). In 50% of patients mucositis was resolved by day 8.ConclusionPatients treated with platinum salts, etoposide and fluorouracil presented with mucositis more frequently. The use of MCS was effective and well tolerated. It is necessary to carry out comparative studies.No conflict of interest.

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Conclusion According to Earle et al. indicators, the patients were excessively treated with antineoplastic drugs at the end of life, which demanded more healthcare services. However, they received good support care from palliative care at the end of life. There are no European studies including all indicators for patients with solid tumours near death. Standards to assess the aggressive care at the end of life would be helpful in improvingstrategies at the end of life.