Level of Adherence to Cytotoxic Drugs by Breast Cancer Patients’ in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases in women and adjuvant combination chemotherapy has been shown to reduce mortality from this disease. Adherence to medical treatment is a multifaceted issue that can substantially alter the outcomes of therapy. Patient non-adherence to chemotherapy is the ultimate barrier to the treatment effectiveness. Objective: This study was carried out to determine the relationship between cancer chemotherapy adherence and breast cancer staging, patient's perception of cancer care and patient's socio-demographic characteristics. Material and method: This was a cross sectional study selection of respondents and was based on simple random sampling technique, 184 patients were interviewed and data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire to obtain socio-demographic data, adherence data, and facility-related information. Results: There was a significant association between marital status and non-adherence (P = 0.013). Both separated and single subjects had higher proportion of non-adherence compared with married subjects. Analysis of perception of chemotherapy care revealed a significant association between the satisfaction score and non-adherence, with non-adherent patients showing higher scores or being less satisfied. The quality of service (P = 0.0052); rating of needs been met (P = 0.0079); rating on whether the services helped the subject (P = 0.0405); rating on the general satisfaction of the services provided (P = 0.0115); and rating on whether subject would seek help again (P = 0.0320) all had a significant association with non-adherence. Conclusion: The awareness of oncologist and patient of the problem of nonadherence and communication regarding the importance of adherence to therapy may improve health outcomes. * Corresponding author. P. Abiodun et al.384

Effectiveness of Short Message Service Support on Adherence to Chemotherapy Treatment among Patients Attending Cancer Treatment Facilities in Kenya

“…A large meta-analysis reported that marital status increased the odds of adherence to treatment by 1.27, reinforcing the significant role that social support mechanisms play in shaping chemotherapy adherence [15]. In Africa, the significance of marital status has been reported [72]. The interplay of marital status and social support seems to favor women in this trial.…”

Factors Associated with Advanced Disease Stage at Diagnosis in a Study of Patients with Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer

“…Even though not statistically significant, married women in this study had lower odds for advanced staged breast cancer compared to unmarried women While lower SES has been associated with late-stage breast cancer diagnosis in several studies, the only significant effect in the study carried out by Joseph Lipscomb et al was that single women were generally at higher risk to advanced stage than married women, whereas Popoola etal discovered that emotional support is most beneficial in the adjustment of women with breast cancer, generating opportunities for them to express feelings and favoring treatment adherence and spouse has been found out the most important emotional support and the main source of instrumental support [7][8].…”