Abstract 193P
Background
Adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) is associated with increased recurrence-free survival of breast cancer. It is responsible for multiple side effects which could negatively impact the quality of life (QL) and treatment adherence of the patients. This study analyses the relationship between endocrine-related symptoms, QL and treatment adherence in patients with breast cancer.
Methods
A cross-sectional study based on two structured self-report questionnaires that included women who underwent adjuvant ET at least for three months, on a Portuguese oncology centre. The FACT-ES was used to measure QL and to evaluate endocrine-related symptoms. Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-4 was used for measuring the patient’s adherence. Bivariate analysis was performed using the Spearman coefficient and the Mann-Whitney test, with a significance level of 5%.
Results
A total of 113 women with a median age of 55 years were included in this study. Half of them were postmenopausal and two-thirds were being treated with an aromatase inhibitor. More than 20% of women have classified 11 symptoms as “very much” or “quite a bit” affecting them. Vasomotor symptoms, mood changes and joint pain were the most severe endocrine-related symptoms reported. A weak-to-moderate correlation was found between experiencing fewer symptoms and QL, in particular: joint pain, irritability and mood swings. The adherence to ET was 60.2%. Forgetting to take medication was frequent (27.4%). No association was found among ET class, different QL domains and treatment adherence. Irritability and mood swings were associated with low adherence to ET. Women with a low level of adherence had worse QL scores, without statistical significance (p=0.085).
Conclusions
Endocrine-related symptoms were severely reported. Mood swings and irritability were associated with worse QL score and low treatment adherence, which was suboptimal, especially in a country where women have free access to this medication. It is essential to develop strategies to minimize endocrine-related symptoms and optimize QL of these patients.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.