Adherence to prescribed oral medications: Understanding the barriers to optimizing hormonal therapy in breast cancer (BC)

Abstract

8621 Background: Several studies have demonstrated suboptimal adherence to oral anticancer agents. Understanding barriers to treatment adherence is increasingly important with the growing number of oral agents available to treat BC. Gaining insights into the attitudes and behaviors of patients (pts) with BC regarding their prescribed treatment is necessary to identify and address factors responsible for poor adherence with oral medications. Methods: To identify barriers to adherence with oral hormonal medications, a self-reported, 30-question internet survey was posted on www.y-me.org from June 30 through October 31, 2005. Results: Of the 328 survey respondents, 65.9% were diagnosed with early BC and 53.3% were postmenopausal. Of the 60% of pts with BC who had been prescribed an oral therapy, 44.6% were prescribed tamoxifen, 31.8% anastrozole, and 7.9% letrozole. 88.6% of patients indicated that their healthcare provider discussed the importance of taking oral medications as directed. Only 44.2% reported receiving instruction on the importance of taking oral medications as directed at every office visit. For 33.3%, this topic was reportedly discussed only once, prior to treatment. 83.6% of patients indicated they were taking their oral therapy as directed, but only 57.4% rated their ability to adhere to therapy (not missing a single dose) as excellent. For 35.5%, knowing that adherence may improve clinical outcome would help them take their oral medication as directed. For 24.1%, better management of treatment-related side effects would improve their adherence to therapy. Conclusions: To improve adherence, the results of this survey suggest that healthcare professionals should discuss and emphasize 1) the importance of taking oral medications as directed and 2) the impact of adherence on clinical outcomes. Greater attention to managing treatment-related side effects may further enhance adherence to therapy. [Table: see text]