Pharmacist-led continuity of care interventions for patients receiving oral anticancer therapy: a systematic review...

The shift of cancer care to the home setting via oral anticancer therapy has introduced significant challenges to continuity of care and patient safety. Despite its promise, there remains a lack of comprehensive research that characterizes the components of pharmacist interventions and evaluates their impact on clinical outcomes and quality indicators across the continuity of care.

This review searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from inception to December 2024, including studies that implemented pharmacist-led interventions for patients receiving oral anticancer therapy and reported at least one outcome measure in economic, clinical, or humanistic domains. A meta-analysis was conducted using R, calculating the mean difference effect size for continuous outcomes and the odds ratio for dichotomous outcomes.

A total of 27 studies evaluating pharmacist-led interventions in patients receiving oral anticancer therapy were identified through systematic searches, including randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled trials, and cohort studies. The study identified 11 pharmacist interventions distributed across four main domains, namely patient education and behavioral support, symptom and toxicity management, medication therapy management, and healthcare access support. The meta-analysis revealed that pharmacist interventions tend to improve medication adherence and treatment persistence. However, the impact on clinical endpoints and the incidence of drug-related problems remained heterogeneous. Evidence regarding their impact on economic burden, quality of life, health beliefs and knowledge remained limited.

Pharmacist-led interventions may contribute to quality indicators, specifically treatment adherence and persistence in oral anticancer therapy management. While these improvements are associated with patient safety and treatment effectiveness, current evidence is insufficient to confirm a direct translation into superior clinical endpoints. Further studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of pharmacist-led interventions in cancer patients and to comprehensively evaluate the value of continuity of care.