This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Save to my personal folders Download to citation manager Rights & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ludwig, H. Articles by Rieger, P. T. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Ludwig, H. Articles by Rieger, P. T. Social Bookmarking                            What's this?

In Reply

Wilhelminenspital, Vienna, Austria

Tony S.K. Mok

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Paula Trahan Rieger

International Affairs Department, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA

We appreciate Dr Goldspiel's comment on the role of oncology pharmacists in cancer care and would like to explain why their specialty has not explicitly been stated in the ASCO-ESMO (American Society of Clinical Oncology–European Society for Medical Oncology) Consensus Statement on Quality Cancer Care, published in the July 20, 2006, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.¹ It is without doubt that many other specialists than those few mentioned in the Consensus Statement often play an important role in the treatment and care of patients with cancer. Among those are oncology pharmacists, radiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, speech therapists, social workers, and several others.

The role, availability, and participation in patient care of these professionals do, however, vary markedly from region to region. In many parts of the world, including China and other large countries and regions, oncology pharmacists are not available. It is often the nurse who prepares the cytotoxic drugs and other medications. The presence of the oncology pharmacist is primarily seen in countries with very specialized cancer care, such as the United States, Canada, and increasingly in Europe. In appraisal of these variations, the work group decided to give only selected examples of the most commonly seen participants in cancer care and avoided portraying an inclusive scenario for the various models in place in global cancer care. We appreciate however, that depending on the conditions of the individual health care system, oncology pharmacists as well as other specialists can play an important role in care of patients diagnosed with cancer.

Authors' Disclosures of Potential Conflicts of Interest

The authors indicated no potential conflicts of interest.

REFERENCE

1. ASCO-ESMO consensus statement on quality cancer care. J Clin Oncol 24:3498-3499, 2006[Free Full Text]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Save to my personal folders Download to citation manager Rights & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ludwig, H. Articles by Rieger, P. T. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Ludwig, H. Articles by Rieger, P. T. Social Bookmarking                            What's this?