Évaluation de la polymédication des patients âgés atteints de cancers bronchiques

Due to multiple co-morbidities, leading to high Charlson indexes for two-thirds of the present patients, polymedication concerned two-thirds of the elderly patients with lung cancer. Prescriptions that were inappropriate or with dosage not adapted to kidney function were found in one in five patients; they are counterproductive, and increase both costs and toxicity, especially in case of kidney failure, present in 45% of our patients. Drug interactions, found in 7% of patients, are liable to reduce the efficacy of anti-cancer therapy, and may increase side effects, notably in case of targeted therapy. All pharmaceutical interventions led to a change in prescription, concerning a quarter of the population studied, which is far from negligible. Assessment of prescriptions, drug interactions and dose adaptation is mandatory to optimise the use of anti-cancer drugs and targeted therapies in elderly lung cancer patients, in order to prevent iatrogenic risk and ensure safe drug treatment.