Why doesn the BNF include more detail about drugs used for the management of malignant disease?
Chapter 8 of the BNF includes information about the indications of cytotoxic drugs as well as some of the principal side-effects associated with them. Because oncology is an area that is likely to be managed by specialists, the BNF does not include detail of chemotherapy regimens. Such information is best obtained from up-to-date specialist literature. In addition, many cancer treatments take place within the context of clinical trials and it is not possible to include the necessary information in the BNF. Information is included about doses of drugs that are given by mouth but information about drugs used by the parenteral route in chemotherapy regimens is omitted.
