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Chemotherapy dose and dose intensity: analyzing data to guide therapeutic decisions
1Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. tgilles@emory.edu
Purpose/Objectives:
To provide key examples from the oncology literature related to chemotherapy dose/dose intensity to guide nurses in evidence-based decision making.
Data Sources:
Published articles and abstracts of scientific findings and clinical trials.
Data Synthesis:
Understanding tumor biology and growth kinetics is essential in determining optimal approaches to cancer treatment and goal setting in cancer care.
Conclusions:
Therapeutic decision making ideally should be data driven. Dose and dose intensity can make a difference in therapeutic outcomes. Additional research with well-designed clinical trials, incorporating recent advances in cancer biology, is needed to define more distinctly the role of dose/dose intensity related to specific tumor types.
Implications For Nursing Practice:
Establish therapeutic goals at initiation of therapy, and communicate them clearly with patients, families, and the rest of the healthcare team.