Pharmacists play key roles in patient-centred care for breast cancer patients

A new review article explores interventions by community, clinic and hospital pharmacists that improve the care of patients with breast cancer. Pharmacists in clinics/hospitalsPharmacists in clinics or hospitals have shown benefits in medication therapy management, including medication reviews and medication reconciliation, addressing polypharmacy, monitoring for prescribing errors, addressing adherence, assessing for and preventing drug interactions, medication counselling (including prophylactic antiemetic counselling), identification and assistance with management of medication toxicity/adverse effects, handling of missed doses, providing patient education and education of other healthcare providers. Community pharmacistsPharmacists in community practice have helped patients with breast cancer by minimizing delays in patient access to treatment, promoting treatment adherence, preventing and managing adverse events, preventing drug interactions, collaborating with physicians regarding hand–foot syndrome control for patients taking capecitabine, educating and counselling patients on the management of adverse events, conducting smoking cessation programs, counselling about weight management and lifestyle modification, addressing adherence, and empowering patients to become partners in their own care. They also have provided public education breast on cancer prevention and breast cancer risks.The authors acknowledge that community pharmacists may face challenges in providing care to patients with breast cancer due to limited resources, such as restricted access to comprehensive patient medical records and advanced monitoring tools. In addition, compared to hospital pharmacists, they may have less in-depth training in oncology-specific medication therapy management.The review concludes that pharmacists play a pivotal role in providing pharmaceutical services to patients with breast cancer. The authors suggest that future research should focus on evaluating pharmacists’ long-term cost-effectiveness in breast cancer care. In addition, further development of the role of community pharmacists in breast cancer care may help them better complement the activities of clinic/hospital pharmacists, leading to the most comprehensive services for patients.ReferencePei Y, Huang R, Chang F, et al. The role of pharmacists in delivering pharmaceutical services to breast cancer patients in clinical and community settings: a scoping review. Pharmacy (Basel) 2025;13(4):97. Published online July 21, 2025. (accessed July 29, 2025).

Pharmacists play key roles in patient-centred care for breast cancer patients

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