The pattern of drug information regarding adjuvant endocrine therapy among breast cancer patients in Hanoi: a cross-sectional study

Tóm tắt

Drug information plays a crucial role in the treatment of breast cancer (BC) patients receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET). However, gaps exist in the provision of information, including sources, topics related to AET usage, and patient information needs. This study aims to explore these gaps and propose effective strategies to improve drug information delivery. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 863 female BC outpatients receiving AET at the two 11 largest oncology hospitals in northern Vietnam from April 2020 to July 2020. Data was collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The mean age of patients was 53.7 ± 10.3 years, and 57.7% were diagnosed with stage II cancer. The majority of patients reported receiving information from doctors (96.6%), while fewer received information from pharmacists (22.0%) and nurses (14.8%). Most patients received information about dosage and administration (88.8%), AET duration (80.6%), BC  stage and severity (78.6%), and the purpose of using endocrine drugs (63.7%). However, around 40% to 50% of patients received information about the names of endocrine drug, monitoring of AET effectiveness, management of missed doses and overdoses, and potential ADEs. Only 27.2% of patients received advice on how to prevent/manage potential ADEs. About 50% of patients had drug informational inquiries and mainly sought answers from doctors. Breast cancer patients in Vietnam lack of essential information for optimizing cancer therapy. The absence of diversity in information sources constitutes another deficiency. Addressing these gaps requires a more proactive role from healthcare providers, especially pharmacists, to ensure patients receive comprehensive drug information education.