Nearly one-quarter of breast cancer patients stop taking the drug tamoxifen within the first year of a standard five-year regimen.
January 25, 2007 (Press Release) --
Nearly one-quarter of breast cancer patients stop taking the drug tamoxifen within the first year of a standard five-year regimen, a new Irish study reveals.
Doctors routinely prescribe tamoxifen -- which inhibits estrogen's stimulatory effect on cancer cells -- to patients after breast cancer treatment, to help prevent a recurrence.
But the new study found a steep drop-off in drug adherence, about twice the rate observed in previous studies. Treatment non-adherence rose over time and shifted with patient age, the researchers added.
In fact, the study found that more than one-third of patients ceased taking their medication within three-and-a-half years of treatment. Younger women between 35 and 44, and those over the age of 75, were the most likely to discontinue drug usage.
"We now know that there are a considerable number of women who stop taking their tamoxifen early," said study author Thomas I. Barron, from the department of pharmacology and therapeutics at Trinity College Dublin and St. James's Hospital in Ireland. That's concerning, he said, because "women discontinuing their tamoxifen early may not receive the full benefits of their treatment."
Barron's group believe that the "surprisingly high" lack of adherence stems from the relatively long time women are placed on the drug and its often troublesome side effects.
The findings are published in the Jan. 22 online issue of Cancer, and will appear in the journal's March 1 print edition.
Tamoxifen, a "selective estrogen receptor modulator," is typically prescribed for a five-year period following a diagnosis of breast cancer, although in some cases a longer regimen is recommended. Taking the medication for less than five years can undercut the drug's effectiveness and is associated with more frequent cancer recurrence and, ultimately, a higher risk of death, experts say.
Barron and his colleagues note that about 75 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer are prescribed a hormonal agent such as tamoxifen as part of their overall treatment. Research suggests that tamoxifen prevents more than 40,000 breast cancer recurrences worldwide each year.
However, side effects that mimic menopausal symptoms are prevalent among some, but not all, women who take the drug. These include hot flashes, vaginal discharge, irregular menstruation, headaches, fatigue, nausea, and vaginal itching and rashing.
To gauge patient adherence with prescribed tamoxifen, Barron and his team reviewed pharmacy database records to examine the prescription-filling habits of more than 2,800 Irish breast cancer patients over the age of 35, all of whom had embarked on a tamoxifen regimen sometime between 2001 and 2004.
The researchers note that all patients received free health services and free medicine, so cost was not an obstacle to continued treatment. None of the patients took any other hormone therapy along with tamoxifen.
source: http://health.msn.com/
Doctors routinely prescribe tamoxifen -- which inhibits estrogen's stimulatory effect on cancer cells -- to patients after breast cancer treatment, to help prevent a recurrence.
But the new study found a steep drop-off in drug adherence, about twice the rate observed in previous studies. Treatment non-adherence rose over time and shifted with patient age, the researchers added.
In fact, the study found that more than one-third of patients ceased taking their medication within three-and-a-half years of treatment. Younger women between 35 and 44, and those over the age of 75, were the most likely to discontinue drug usage.
"We now know that there are a considerable number of women who stop taking their tamoxifen early," said study author Thomas I. Barron, from the department of pharmacology and therapeutics at Trinity College Dublin and St. James's Hospital in Ireland. That's concerning, he said, because "women discontinuing their tamoxifen early may not receive the full benefits of their treatment."
Barron's group believe that the "surprisingly high" lack of adherence stems from the relatively long time women are placed on the drug and its often troublesome side effects.
The findings are published in the Jan. 22 online issue of Cancer, and will appear in the journal's March 1 print edition.
Tamoxifen, a "selective estrogen receptor modulator," is typically prescribed for a five-year period following a diagnosis of breast cancer, although in some cases a longer regimen is recommended. Taking the medication for less than five years can undercut the drug's effectiveness and is associated with more frequent cancer recurrence and, ultimately, a higher risk of death, experts say.
Barron and his colleagues note that about 75 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer are prescribed a hormonal agent such as tamoxifen as part of their overall treatment. Research suggests that tamoxifen prevents more than 40,000 breast cancer recurrences worldwide each year.
However, side effects that mimic menopausal symptoms are prevalent among some, but not all, women who take the drug. These include hot flashes, vaginal discharge, irregular menstruation, headaches, fatigue, nausea, and vaginal itching and rashing.
To gauge patient adherence with prescribed tamoxifen, Barron and his team reviewed pharmacy database records to examine the prescription-filling habits of more than 2,800 Irish breast cancer patients over the age of 35, all of whom had embarked on a tamoxifen regimen sometime between 2001 and 2004.
The researchers note that all patients received free health services and free medicine, so cost was not an obstacle to continued treatment. None of the patients took any other hormone therapy along with tamoxifen.
source: http://health.msn.com/
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