Evaluation of adverse drug reactions of chemotherapeutic agents used in advanced non-small cell lung cancer - experience from a rural tertiary care institution in North Eastern India.

Background: Lung cancer is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality both in developed and developing countries. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are inevitable, albeit unwanted aspects of cancer chemotherapeutic agents used in lung cancer.

Aim And Objectives: To determine common ADRs and the severity of ADRs of different chemotherapeutic agents used in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Materials And Methods: The study was conducted among purposively selected 160 patients who had undergone chemotherapy for lung carcinoma. Clinical records of NSCLC patients were reviewed and data related to the socio-demographic and clinic-therapeutic profiles of patients were collected. ADRs were graded according to the Common toxicity criteria (CTC) grading. Data analysis was done using the IBM-SPSS software and presented using the principle of descriptive statistics. Relationships between ADRs and drug regimens were determined using Chi-square tests considering a 95% confidence interval and P value ≤ 0.05 as significant.

Result: Among 160 patients, 78.8% were males and 21.3% were females. The mean age was 59.15 ± 10.6 years, illness duration was 7.5 ± 10.6 months, and treatment duration was 4.4 ± 0.91 months. The overall mortality rate and systemic toxicity of the paclitaxel-carboplatin combination were the lowest. Almost an equal proportion of moderate to severe changes in parameters such as myelosuppression, anemia, thrombocytopenia, alopecia, skin changes, allergic reaction, and peripheral neuropathy, were observed with all chemotherapeutic regimens. Gemcitabine-carboplatin regimen was associated with a higher proportion of altered liver enzymes, electrolyte imbalance, diarrhea, pleural effusion, and renal toxicities.

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of ADRs with different chemotherapeutic agents. Early detection of these ADRs may help in minimizing the damage by either modifying the dose or changing the offending agent.