Clinical profiles and outcomes of patients enrolled in the department of health: Breast cancer medicines access program in the philippines—A single center experience.

Abstract

6 Background: The magnitude of breast cancer as a major public health problem throughout the world has always been emphasized. In the Philippines, the incidence of breast cancer is 17.7% in 2020, which makes it the most common malignancy among women. According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99% as compared to a patient with distant metastasis, which decreased to 29%. Therefore, enhanced screening techniques for early disease detection and prompt treatment are necessary to improve cure and survival rates. The Breast Cancer Medicines Access Program (BCMAP) aimed to provide ready access to free medicines for the adjuvant chemotherapy treatment of Stage I-IIIb breast cancer patients to alleviate financial toxicity associated with the costly cancer treatment. This study aims to assess the impact of the BCMAP, and determine the clinical profiles and outcomes of patients enrolled in the program at National Kidney and Transplant Institute. Specifically, this study aims to identify factors causing delay of treatment, to evaluate the program and to provide recommendations for implementation improvement. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study which included all enrolled patients at the BCMAP from October 2020 to December 2021. The patients were followed up until July 2022 to determine survival rates. Results: There were 52 eligible breast cancer patients enrolled. More than two-thirds completed systemic treatment as per physician’s discretion. The results showed that the overall survival rate is at 95.9% and the disease-free survival rate is at 88.7%. Less than 10% had progressed, and there were two mortalities reported. COVID-19 infection (p=0.0001) and unavailability of trastuzumab (p=0.0216) were identified to be significant factors for treatment delay. Conclusions: There was a trend towards a favorable overall survival and disease-free survival for patients with early breast cancer enrolled to DOH-BCMAP at 21 months follow-up. COVID-19 infection and unavailability of Trastuzumab were significant factors for treatment delay.