Work

Patient adherence and persistence with oral anticancer treatment

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: Given the recent significant increase in the use of oral therapies in cancer management, an understanding of patients' adherence to and persistence with oral therapy is crucial. Nonadherence and early cessation may be substantial barriers to the delivery of valuable therapies, and may impair health. Potential obstacles to adherence and persistence include personal characteristics, treatment features, and system factors. Techniques for measuring adherence and persistence include self-report, pill counts, microelectronic monitoring systems (MEMS), prescription database analysis, and the assessment of serum or urine drug levels. This review article describes available data regarding adherence and persistence among patients with cancer, as well as studies of interventions to improve adherence. All reports of studies of adherence with oral cancer therapy that the authors could find on PubMed or in the reference sections of these PubMed-located articles were included. Adherence and persistence rates ranged from 16% to 100% with different therapies and different methods of measurement. Studies that included educational, behavioral, and multidimensional interventions to improve adherence were also described.

Source: CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians

DOI: 10.3322/caac.20004

Authors: K. Ruddy, E. Mayer, A. Partridge

Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: Medication Adherence and Compliance

Subfield: Family Practice

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,330