Delayed adjuvant hormonal therapy and its impact on mortality in women with breast cancer

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 952-959
Author(s):  
Shen Li ◽  
Amulya Alapati ◽  
Luis Riba ◽  
Aaron Fleishman ◽  
Ted A. James ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy

The role of the clinical pharmacist in guiding adjuvant hormonal therapy in patients with breast cancer

2021 ◽  
pp. 107815522110293
Author(s):  
Amanda V Pirolli ◽  
Tatiana Brusamarello ◽  
Stella S Everton ◽  
Vânia M S Andrzejevski
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Hormone Therapy ◽  
Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Clinical Pharmacist ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Breast Cancers

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer among women, affecting about 2.1 million worldwide and is responsible for the highest number of cancer-related deaths among women. Approximately 80% of breast cancers express on the surface of hormone receptor cells, such as progesterone and estrogen. In these cases, Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy (AHT) is indicated for a period of five to ten years and consists of taking a daily oral pill. The two most used drugs in AHT are tamoxifen and Aromatase Inhibitors. One of the issues most faced by individuals who are subjected to long periods of treatment is the lack of medication adherence and, consequently, therapeutic inefficiency. It is believed that the monitoring by the pharmacist can contribute to the reduction of errors inherent to the medication, making the treatment more effective and improving the patient's quality of life. The present study aimed to know the perception of patients who live with breast cancer and who do AHT in relation to the educational performance of the clinical pharmacist. This is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study, carried out from March to October 2020, with 15 women undergoing treatment at the oncology unit of a tertiary-care hospital in south of Brazil. The data were obtained through a semi-structured interview using an instrument composed of two parts, one referring to the characterization of the participants and the other with the guiding question of the research: "How do you perceive the role of the pharmacist in relation to the guidelines for the use of adjuvant hormonal therapy?". The method of theoretical saturation was used to perform the sample closure and the thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The participants were between 32 and 74 years old, seven were on tamoxifen therapy and eight on anastrozole, ten were on the first year of treatment, two on the second and three on the third year. The themes that emerged were: pharmacist-patient interaction as a safety factor in hormone therapy; role of the pharmacist in the development of strategies for self-management of the patients during hormone therapy; and, challenges for the pharmacist in relation to hormone therapy through continued guidance. It was evident that the pharmacist's educational action encouraged the participants to carry out the treatment in a more confident and assertive manner according to their particularities and beliefs.

scholarly journals Adherence and persistence to adjuvant hormonal therapy in early stage breast cancer patients: A population-based retrospective cohort study in Israel.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e12051-e12051
Author(s):  
Tal Sella ◽  
Gabriel Chodick
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Breast Cancer Survivors ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Early Stage Breast Cancer ◽  
Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Suboptimal Adherence

e12051 Background: Adjuvant hormonal therapy has been consistently proven to improve multiple outcomes in early breast cancer. Nonetheless, data on rates of adherence and persistence with therapy outside West Europe and North America are scarce. We assessed the adherence and persistence with adjuvant hormonal in a retrospective population based cohort of breast cancer survivors in Maccabi Health Services (MHS), Israel. Methods: We identified women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and initiated adjuvant hormonal therapy between January 2000 and November 2008. Subjects were followed retrospectively from first dispensed tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor (AI) and up to the earliest of the following events: disease recurrence (indicated by surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or other related therapies), leaving MHS, death, or completion of 5 years of treatment. Discontinuation of therapy was defined as a 180-day or longer treatment gap. Adherence with therapy was assessed using proportion of days covered (PDC) during follow-up period. Survival analysis was used to determine the effect of adherence on all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 4178 women with breast cancer were followed for a median 7.8 years. Over 90% of patients received tamoxifen as the initial hormonal agent. Mean PDC was 84% with lower rates associated with younger age, smoking status, comorbidities and year of diagnosis. Residential area did not affect adherence. Differences were not found. Discontinuation of therapy occurred in 23% of study patients. Among persistent patients, 70% were optimally adherent with therapy (PDC>=80%). Association between adherence with therapy and survival is investigated. Conclusions: Adherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy among Israeli breast cancer patients with national health insurance is high in comparison to international reports. Nevertheless, suboptimal adherence was identified among younger (<45y) patients. Because of the efficacy of hormonal therapy in preventing recurrence and death in women with early-stage breast cancer, interventions are necessary to identify and prevent suboptimal adherence among high risk subgroups.

scholarly journals Adherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy among breast cancer survivors in clinical practice: a systematic review

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin C. Murphy ◽  
L. Kay Bartholomew ◽  
Melissa Y. Carpentier ◽  
Shirley M. Bluethmann ◽  
Sally W. Vernon
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Breast Cancer Survivors ◽  
Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy

scholarly journals Early Discontinuation and Nonadherence to Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy in a Cohort of 8,769 Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (27) ◽  
pp. 4120-4128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn L. Hershman ◽  
Lawrence H. Kushi ◽  
Theresa Shao ◽  
Donna Buono ◽  
Aaron Kershenbaum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Optimal Schedule ◽  
Medication Possession Ratio ◽  
Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Early Discontinuation ◽  
Younger Women ◽  
Hormone Sensitive

Purpose While studies have found that adjuvant hormonal therapy for hormone-sensitive breast cancer (BC) dramatically reduces recurrence and mortality, adherence to medications is suboptimal. We investigated the rates and predictors of early discontinuation and nonadherence to hormonal therapy in patients enrolled in Kaiser Permanente of Northern California health system. Patients and Methods We identified women diagnosed with hormone-sensitive stage I-III BC from 1996 to 2007 and used automated pharmacy records to identify hormonal therapy prescriptions and dates of refill. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to analyze factors associated with early discontinuation and nonadherence (medication possession ratio < 80%) of hormonal therapy. Results We identified 8,769 patients with BC who met our eligibility criteria and who filled at least one prescription for tamoxifen (43%), aromatase inhibitors (26%), or both (30%) within 1 year of diagnosis. Younger or older age, lumpectomy (v mastectomy), and comorbidities were associated with earlier discontinuation, while Asian race, being married, earlier year at diagnosis, receipt of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and longer prescription refill interval were associated with completion of 4.5 years of therapy. Of those who continued therapy, similar factors were associated with full adherence. Women age younger than 40 years had the highest risk of discontinuation (hazard ratio, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.85). By 4.5 years, 32% discontinued therapy, and of those who continued, 72% were fully adherent. Conclusion Only 49% of patients with BC took adjuvant hormonal therapy for the full duration at the optimal schedule. Younger women are at high risk of nonadherence. Interventions to improve adherence and continuation of hormonal therapy are needed, especially for younger women.

Disparities and Challenges in Adherence to Oral Antineoplastic Agents

2013 ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa K. Accordino ◽  
Dawn L. Hershman
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Health Beliefs ◽  
Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
System Level ◽  
Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Treatment Technology ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
Medication Noncompliance

The issue of medication noncompliance is becoming increasingly important in oncology as more cancer therapies are delivered orally. Medication adherence is difficult to assess and there is no gold standard of measurement. The act of measuring adherence can affect outcomes. Medication noncompliance is common, and is estimated to be 50% in treatment of chronic diseases. Studies have shown that women initiate adjuvant hormonal therapy for breast cancer 64% to 88% of the time when prescribed. Of those who initiate therapy, 50% to 80% are adherent for the prescribed duration, depending on the study. Patients noncompliant with adjuvant hormonal therapy for breast cancer have worse overall survival than their counterparts. Suboptimal treatment responses in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are also associated with medication noncompliance. Poor adherence can also affect clinical trial results, leading to inaccuracies of treatment efficacy. Barriers to compliance can occur on the individual, cultural, or system level. Examples of specific barriers are side effects, cost and access to medication, and individual health beliefs. Specific populations, including racial minorities, elderly patients, and very young patients, may be at higher risk for medication noncompliance. Strategies to improve compliance are multifactorial and include improvement of patient education, reduction of treatment side effects, interventions to alter behavior, and changes in public policy to improve financial barriers to treatment. Technology has been an effective tool in improving compliance in noncancer-related illness, and ongoing studies are evaluating its role in the oncology population.

scholarly journals Role of neo-adjuvant hormonal therapy in the treatment of breast cancer: a review of clinical trials

2009 ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Abrial ◽  
Durando ◽  
Mouret-Reynier ◽  
Thivat ◽  
Bayet-Robert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy

Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 639-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold J. Burstein ◽  
Jennifer J. Griggs
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Hormonal Therapy ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Early Stage Breast Cancer ◽  
Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy
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