Oral Endocrine Therapy Nonadherence, Adverse Effects, Decisional Support, and Decisional Needs in Women With Breast Cancer.
Jennifer L Milata, Julie L Otte, Janet S Carpenter
PMID 27532743WHAT IT FOUND
Side effects are the main reason women stop oral endocrine therapy for breast cancer, yet most studies show patients receive little support to manage them.
Nurses should ask about side effects and adherence at every visit, as current information is often insufficient.
Key findings
01Side effects were a reason for non-adherence in 23 of the 25 identified studies.
02Details on decisional support were absent in more than half of the identified studies.
03Women experiencing side effects were two to four times more likely to discontinue therapy early, and those with severe side effects were five times more likely.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review relied on extracting information from existing methods and results sections, which may have under-reported actual supports and needs. The search was limited to English-language articles and two databases, potentially missing relevant studies. Methods used to assess side effects varied across the included studies, making direct comparison difficult.
Declared interests
No specific conflicts of interest or funding sources were explicitly declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that providing more information at the initial prescription is sufficient. The review found that support provided at that single time point was often inadequate for the long-term decision-making process, which unfolds over up to 10 years.