Adherence to Oral Hormonal Adjuvant Therapy in Patients with Breast Cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer is the second most frequent in the world and the most common among women. The use of adjuvant hormonal therapy (AHT) has been shown to improve disease-free survival, reducing the risk of recurrence and mortality, and adherence to it is essential to achieve the desired outcomes. Objective: To evaluate adherence of women with breast cancer to the AHT and identify the factors that can be influencing this adherence. Method: Questionnaires were used to obtain data including the Morisky and Green test to assess compliance and Marques test that evaluates the factors that influence adherence to treatment. Results: We interviewed 53 women using AHT treated at a university hospital. The Morisky and Green test showed 52, 8% of adherence with an average of two years of treatment, and that the behavior of non-compliance had always been non-intentional, and oblivion being the most frequent factor. Most patients had no difficulty in guiding their treatment. The most reported factor that may influence adherence was lack of orientation of the health team. Conclusion: The rate of adherence was less than desirable. In order to archive better compliance rates of these patients to ensure more efficient treatment, it is necessary to implement recalling strategies to these patients.