Website launched as a new cancer drug interactions resource

A new website to promote safer prescribing and improved quality of care for cancer patients has been launched by the University of Liverpool and Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen.

The website, www.cancer-druginteractions.org, will host an interaction checker that will enable screening for drug–drug interactions (DDIs) with anti-cancer agents. Users of the site will be able to select from a list of anti-cancer agents and a comprehensive list of commonly prescribed co-medications to see if a DDI is likely. Additionally, the rationale and evidence behind each recommendation will be displayed.

It is hoped that over the next three to five years the resource will host up to 200 anti-cancer agents used to treat both solid and haematological cancers. As DDIs are important for patients undergoing treatment for cancer and the healthcare professionals treating them, this resource will offer a single point of reference to assist in the management of these therapeutic risks.

“This site harnesses the methodology of Liverpool’s leading drug interactions resources and applies it to cancer: an area in great need of improved DDI management,” said Saye Khoo, professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Translational Medicine. “We are delighted to be working with Radboud colleagues on this exciting project.”

“We have been developing the site since January 2017 and are very excited to share our progress with cancer healthcare professionals,” added Dr Nielka van Erp, hospital pharmacist and clinical pharmacologist at Radboud and co-clinical lead for the project. “Our aim is that the site will become integral to cancer drug prescribing, and we hope we have developed something of real clinical utility, which will improve the safe use of medication for cancer patients internationally.”