Older adults with cancer are often juggling a complex cocktail of medications — and a new study shows that pharmacists can play a pivotal role in cleaning up that complexity. Published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, the randomized trial of 443 patients (65+) with common cancers and polypharmacy (5+ drugs) found that a structured, pharmacist-led medication review using the FORTA scoring tool significantly outperformed usual care.

At admission, the medication landscape was already concerning: nearly two-thirds of patients were on potentially inappropriate medications, and over 94% had medication underuse. By discharge, the intervention group saw dramatic improvements across the board.

By the Numbers:

• 66.1% of patients had potentially inappropriate medications at admission
• 94.6% had medication underuse; 58.9% had overuse
• Intervention group saw reductions of 41.3, 35.5, and 30.7 percentage points in potentially inappropriate medication, underuse, and overuse, respectively
• Mean FORTA score improvement: 3.7 points greater than the control group
• 337 missing vaccinations (flu, pneumonia, COVID-19, shingles) were identified in the intervention group

Why it matters: Polypharmacy in older cancer patients is a serious but often overlooked problem. This study shows that embedding pharmacist-led reviews into oncology care can meaningfully reduce medication-related harm — a practical, scalable solution for a vulnerable population.