Drugs Prescribing Pattern Among Patients with Cancer in Yazd, Iran (2020): A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Evaluating chemotherapy prescription patterns is crucial due to the increasing use of nutritional supplements and adjuvants alongside chemotherapy, leading to heightened drug interactions and side effects. Aim: This study aimed to assess chemotherapy prescription patterns, nutritional supplements, and adjuvant of patients with cancer in Yazd, Iran. Materials: This cross-sectional study was performed on the prescriptions of all cancer patients referred to Shahid Chamran Teaching Pharmacy, affiliated with the Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadouqi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran, from September to October 2021. The prescribed chemotherapy drugs, generic chemotherapy drugs, essential drug list (EDL) chemotherapy drugs, injectable chemotherapy drugs, and supplement types in each prescription were recorded. SPSS Version 22 and various statistical tests were employed for analysis. Results: On average, each prescription included 2.37 ± 1.22 prescribed chemotherapy drugs, 1.89 ± 1.28 chemotherapy drugs by generic name, 2.21 ± 1.29 chemotherapy drugs from EDL, and 1.99±1.39 injectable chemotherapy drugs. Monotherapy accounted for 29.4% of prescriptions; the remainder was combination chemotherapy. Oral drugs comprised 10.8%, while the rest were injectables. Cyclophosphamide had the highest frequency among chemotherapy drugs, while alkylating agents dominated. Dexamethasone and granisteron were the most common adjuvants. Major polypharmacy prevalence was significant (P-value = 0.001). Conclusion: The average prescription included a significant number of drugs compared to international standards, with over half exhibiting major polypharmacy. Despite American guidelines discouraging supplement use, 20% of prescriptions included dietary supplements.