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Younger Breast Cancer Patients Most likely To Discontinue Treatment, Study Finds

Submitted by Stacy on Saturday, 3 July 2010No Comment

About half of breast cancer patients do not take their medication for the recommended period of time, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, USA Today reports (Szabo, USA Today, 6/29).

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente in Northern California examined the pharmacy records of 8,769 women with breast cancer who were prescribed tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors or both. The women involved in the study were insured through Kaiser Permanente and diagnosed with Stage I, II or III hormone-sensitive breast cancer between 1997 and 2007 (Schiewe, “Booster Shots,” Los Angeles Times, 6/28). Hormone therapy drugs, such as those in the study, can prevent estrogen from stimulating tumor growth, reduce the risk of relapse by 40% and lower the risk of death by 10%, according to USA Today.

Forty-nine percent of women took the prescribed drugs for at least four-and-one-half of the recommended five years (USA Today, 6/29). Women younger than age 40 were the most likely to discontinue treatment (”Booster Shots,” Los Angeles Times, 6/28).

CUMC’s Dawn Hershman, an author of the report, said it is understandable why some women discontinue their prescriptions because “[a]s you move further out from your diagnosis, it becomes a distant memory. Some women don’t want to be reminded.” Hershman added that the side effects of tamoxifen can be severe, particularly in younger women who have not gone through menopause.

Younger women also are more likely to be caring for children, which could decrease the likelihood that they will focus on their own care, according to Eric Winer of the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute. Because women are advised to avoid pregnancy while taking the hormone therapy drugs, continuing treatment can disrupt women’s plans to have children, according to USA Today.

The findings underscore the need for doctors to work with patients to decrease side effects of cancer treatments, particularly when patients are responsible for their adherence, Jennifer Obel, a breast cancer expert with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said (USA Today, 6/29).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

youngwomen July 3, 2010–Medical News Today–About half of breast cancer patients do not take their medication for the recommended period of time, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, USA Today reports (Szabo, USA Today, 6/29).

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente in Northern California examined the pharmacy records of 8,769 women with breast cancer who were prescribed tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors or both. The women involved in the study were insured through Kaiser Permanente and diagnosed with Stage I, II or III hormone-sensitive breast cancer between 1997 and 2007 (Schiewe, “Booster Shots,” Los Angeles Times, 6/28). Hormone therapy drugs, such as those in the study, can prevent estrogen from stimulating tumor growth, reduce the risk of relapse by 40% and lower the risk of death by 10%, according to USA Today.

Forty-nine percent of women took the prescribed drugs for at least four-and-one-half of the recommended five years (USA Today, 6/29). Women younger than age 40 were the most likely to discontinue treatment (”Booster Shots,” Los Angeles Times, 6/28).

CUMC’s Dawn Hershman, an author of the report, said it is understandable why some women discontinue their prescriptions because “[a]s you move further out from your diagnosis, it becomes a distant memory. Some women don’t want to be reminded.” Hershman added that the side effects of tamoxifen can be severe, particularly in younger women who have not gone through menopause.

Younger women also are more likely to be caring for children, which could decrease the likelihood that they will focus on their own care, according to Eric Winer of the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute. Because women are advised to avoid pregnancy while taking the hormone therapy drugs, continuing treatment can disrupt women’s plans to have children, according to USA Today.

The findings underscore the need for doctors to work with patients to decrease side effects of cancer treatments, particularly when patients are responsible for their adherence, Jennifer Obel, a breast cancer expert with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said (USA Today, 6/29).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

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