Background: The long-term use of hormonal therapy is important for the treatment of patients with breast cancer. Therefore, we evaluated the methods used for measuring adherence and examined factors that influence compliance. Our goal was to improve overall adherence to the treatment.
Methods: Retrospective analyses by using electronic medical records and questionnaires were performed on 294 patients with breast cancer. The patients were classified into 2 groups based on the mean number of days when a dose was missed over a period of 28 days: group A(range, 0-3 days, n=272)and group B (range, B4 days, n=22). Factors that may influence adherence, including age, duration of hormonal therapy, the drug administered in hormonal therapy, the surgical method, axillary lymph node dissection, and adjuvant chemotherapy, were compared between both groups.
Results: The adherence rates calculated from electronic medical records and questionnaires were similar. The proportion of patients younger than 50 years was 30% in group A and 50% in group B(p<0.05). Additionally, there was a difference in the duration of hormone therapy(752 days vs 981 days in groups A and B, respectively; p< 0.05). Additional factors that are related to low-risk cancer-related procedures, such as breast conserving surgery, may also be linked to poor adherence.
Conclusion: Young age and long duration of hormonal therapy are possibly related to poor adherence. Therefore, pharmacists should identify and manage these patients to increase adherence.