(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Research shows low-income women are less likely to
survive breast cancer. Now, Duke researchers are helping explain why. They find
many of these women stop taking medicines aimed at blocking hormones associated
with the disease.
The investigators looked at data on women insured by Medicaid, the public
insurance program for the poor. Despite this coverage and low co-pays for
prescription drugs, only 64 percent of women with estrogen-positive breast
cancers filled prescriptions for hormonal therapy in the year following their
diagnosis. Among women who had actually filled a prescription for the drugs, 40
percent did not take them as prescribed by their doctors, and 20 percent quit
taking them altogether within the first year.
To
be effective, hormonal therapy must be taken for at least five years following a
breast cancer diagnosis.
“From this study, there is no way to know why the women were not taking
medication as prescribed,” study author Gretchen Kimmick, M.D., was quoted as
saying. “From previous studies, reasons have included side effects, such as hot
flashes, aches and pains, cost of the medication, and lack of understanding
about how important it is.”
She believes more research is needed to find out why these women fail to take
these vital drugs and design public health interventions to improve the
compliance rate.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, published online May 5, 2009
