Adverse Reactions of Targeted Therapy in Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Study of Hospital Medical Data in China

Abstract

Background: The adverse reactions (ADR) of targeted therapy were closely related to the treatment efficacy, quality of life (QoL) and prognosis of cancer patients. However, few studies analyzed the ADR of targeted therapy and their effects on cancer patients. This study was conducted to describe the incidence and characteristics of ADR in cancer patients with targeted therapy and outcomes associated with ADR based on hospital medical data.Methods: A retrospective secondary data analysis was conducted using ADR data in hospital medical record collected from a cohort (n=2,703 with targeted therapy) in three hospitals of Henan, China from January 2018 to December 2019. The type, classification, occurrence time and duration of ADR, medication compliance and drug application, QoL, disease progress and survival of patients were analyzed.Results: A total of 485 patients met the inclusion criteria. 296 (61.0%) patients had ADR during target therapy. The top five ADR in this study were damage to skin, fatigue, mucosal damage, hypertension and gastrointestinal discomfort. 62.1% of the ADR were mild to moderate, more than half of the ADR occurred within one month, 68.6% ADR lasted more than one month. Older patients (P=0.022) and patients with lower education level (P=0.036), more than 2 comorbidities (P=0.021), longer medication time (P=0.022), drug combination (P=0.033) and intravenous administration (P=0.019) were more likely to have ADR. Those who had ADR were more likely to stop taking (P=0.025), change (P=0.010), adjust (P=0.019), or not take the medicine on time (P=0.022), or undergo cancer recurrence (P=0.027) and show higher rates of metastasis (P=0.009) .Conclusion: The incidence of ADR in cancer patients during targeted therapy was high. Age, education level, comorbidity and medication strategy can affect ADR. Furthermore, ADR would affect the treatment and prognosis of patients. We should pay more attention to these ADRs and develop effective management strategies.