Publications, Responses & Statements
Guidance
The UK Chemotherapy Board has published the following guidance documents:
Ambulatory Pathway for Oncology Patients Presenting with Low Risk Febrile Neutropenia
The UK Chemotherapy Board have produced a guidance document on the ambulatory pathway for oncology patients presenting with low risk febrile neutropenia. The document is here.
The Management of Glycaemic Control in Patients with Cancer
The UKCB, in partnership with the diabetologists, have developed guidance on the monitoring of blood sugar levels in patients on steroids/SACT. The document is here.
COVID-19 vaccine for pts on SACT: clinician FAQs and Guidance
The UK Chemotherapy Board has produced a guidance document which addresses key questions raised by health care professionals relating to the administration of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AZ COVID-19 vaccines in patients on SACT. It will be updated as new information and vaccines, eg Moderna, become available.
A link to the document is here.
Personalised Medicine Approach for Fluoropyrimidine-based Therapies (July 2020)
To provide clinical staff with guidance as to which patients should receive a DPD test and then subsequently to provide advice to clinical staff on the outcome of that test.
Medication-related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw: Guidance for the Oncology Multi-Disciplinary Team (December 2019)
This guidance has been produced by a multi-disciplinary working party on behalf of the UK Chemotherapy Board and endorsed by the Clinical Standards Committee of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. It focuses on all aspects of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) in relation to oncology patients. The guidance has also been complimented in a letter to the British Dental Journal.
It is common practice in oncology to prescribe bone-modifying agents (BMAs) or anti-angiogenic drugs (AADs) for a range of cancers. The association of these drugs in medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) has led to a wealth of published guidance. However, much of this guidance is focused and weighted towards the dental specialty with minimal information to assist oncologists. As regular prescribers of these medications, it is essential that appropriate information in both preventing and managing MRONJ is available for responsible treatment planning. Hence, this guidance has been assembled to aid oncologists and the wider team in understanding the condition and subsequently provide optimum clinical care.
In summary, the guidance focuses on all aspects of MRONJ in relation to oncology patients. It aims to fulfil three functions:
Primarily, it is a single source of collective information for oncology teams focused around the prevention and management of MRONJ.
Secondly, it proposes protocols that oncology departments can adapt and amend accordingly to fit local delivery of services.
Thirdly, it provides a series of simple communication adjuncts that can be adapted to assist communication between the oncology multidisciplinary team, patients, dental practitioners and hospital dental specialists.
Collaboration between the cancer care team, dentists and dental specialists is repeatedly emphasised and encouraged throughout the guidance. All the downloads can be found here.
Endorsement Policy (November 2018)
UK Chemotherapy board endorsement policy to guide professional organisations requesting endorsement for documents, policies, position statements or meetings.
Good Practice Guideline for Immuno-Oncology Medicines (November 2018)
This guideline is designed to give a practical framework for the safe introduction and ongoing use of immunotherapy in existing Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) services.
Guidance and forms for consent for Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (December 2017)
Guidance on consent for Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) and national SACT site- and regimen-specific consent forms. Developed with support from Cancer Research UK, the guidance and forms are intended to support clinicians in ensuring that patients receiving SACT are fully informed when consenting to treatment.They are available on the CRUK website and were last updated in December 2017.
Promoting Early Identification of Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapies Side Effects: Two Approaches – Good Practice Guideline (September 2016)
Guidance was produced in response to concerns that patients often delay reporting serious SACT side effects. Two complementary approaches to improve side effect reporting are suggested.
Morbidity and Mortality within 30 days of Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy - review of current practice - Standardised Review Process (August 2016)
The importance of having mortality meetings to review deaths within 30 days of treatment with SACT has been established and most trusts have developed their own system for deciding which cases to discuss. The Chemotherapy Board recognised the many current examples of good practice but noted an inconsistency of approach between centres which may limit sharing of learning. It has summarised the key details of the processes currently used and developed a proposed template for an operational policy and pro forma.
Position Statements
The UK Chemotherapy Board has issued the following position statements:
Closed-system drug-transfer devices for administration of systemic anti-cancer therapies (July 2018)
Non-surgical cancer treatment workforce (June 2018)
UK Chemotherapy Board Website
The above guidance and position statements can be found on the UK Chemotherapy Board website.