# An open supplement-drug interaction checker built into oncology prescribing

Source: https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-moon-supplement-interaction-database/  
OnCo record `idea-moon-supplement-interaction-database` (Idea). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Most patients take supplements and rarely tell their oncologist. Ask routinely and check automatically for interactions with chemotherapy and targeted drugs.

## Summary

Herbal and dietary supplement use is common in cancer patients and can alter drug metabolism (St John's wort, curcumin, green tea extract with certain kinase inhibitors) or interfere with treatment. Data are scattered across MSK's About Herbs, pharmacology references and case reports. The proposal is a curated open database of supplement-anticancer drug interactions with evidence grades, integrated into electronic prescribing so that documented supplement use triggers an alert, plus a standard intake question at every prescribing visit.

## Fields

- Kind: Idea
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Hypothesis: Routine intake and automated checking increase documented supplement use severalfold and reduce clinically relevant interactions and unexplained toxicity or subtherapeutic exposure.
- Rationale: Disclosure rises when asked non-judgementally; interaction knowledge exists but is not at the point of care.
- Proposed test: Implement in two centres; measure documentation rates, alert frequency and pharmacist-confirmed interactions before and after.
- Maturity: early-clinical
- Actor: data

## Sources

- Bottleneck evidence (Misinformation and unproven therapies): Johnson et al., Cancer misinformation and harmful information on Facebook and other social media (JNCI 2022): https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djab141

## Connected records

- institutions: [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/mskcc/)
- bottlenecks: [Misinformation and unproven therapies](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/), [Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/)
- key papers: [Cancer Misinformation and Harmful Information on Facebook and Other Social Media: A Brief Report](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-johnson-j-natl-cancer-inst/)
- technologies: [Dietary supplements during cancer treatment: interactions and harms](https://onco.cc/technologies/dietary-supplements-treatment-interactions/), [St John's wort: an interaction to avoid](https://onco.cc/technologies/st-johns-wort-interaction/)
- ideas: [Confirm or refute the harm of antioxidant supplements during chemotherapy](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-nl-antioxidant-supplement-harm-confirmation/)

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