Evaluation of handling, storage, and disposal practices of oral anticancer medications among cancer patients and their caregivers at home setting in the Princess Noorah Oncology Center

• Published in: Journal of oncology pharmacy practice 2021-01, Vol.27 (1), p.20-25
• Main Authors: Algethami, Ashwag A, Alshamrani, Majed A, AlHarbi, Atika M, AlAzmi, Aeshah A, Khan, Mansoor A, AlHadidi, Rawad A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Cancer; Caregivers; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug Storage; Female; Gloves; Hand Disinfection; Humans; Hygiene; Imatinib; Male; Medical Oncology; Medical Waste Disposal - methods; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Patient Education as Topic; Patients; Pets; Saudi Arabia; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tamoxifen; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1078-1552; 1477-092X
• DOI: 10.1177/1078155220908937

Backgroud: Oral medications are commonly prescribed for many cancer patients. Unfortunately, most of them are dispensed without proper counseling about handling practices. We aimed to evaluate the handling, storage, and disposal practices of oral anticancer medications among cancer patients and their caregivers at home. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire was filled in by adult cancer patients or caregivers who received oral anticancers and/or visited an outpatient pharmacy over two months. Results A total of 201 participants were interviewed, 67% were female, and nearly 44% were between 40 and 60 years of age. The majority of participants were educated (78%). The top five medications involved were: tamoxifen, capecitabine, letrozole, dasatinib, and imatinib. More than 95% of participants reported that medications were kept away from children and pets in the original container and stored away from extreme heat, cold, and humidity. Hand washing and wearing gloves were not consistently practiced. Only 5% reported “Always” wearing gloves, while 24% reported “Always” washing hands after handling anticancer medications. The participants reported that they had been informed about safe handling and storage by their physician (39%) and pharmacist (25%), while 34% had not been informed. In terms of disposal practices, 66% of patients have not had any unused or expired medications, 29% disposed them in the trash, and 27% returned them. Conclusions Our findings suggest that patients and caregivers’ handling practices of oral anticancer medications are inconsistent with the published recommendations. Hence, appropriate and comprehensive education is needed to mitigate the risk of exposure to these agents in the home setting.