Abstract
Background/Aim: Adjuvant hormone therapy (HT) significantly improves survival in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, yet adherence to this therapy is critical and tends to decrease over time. This study aims to identify risk factors for suboptimal adherence to adjuvant HT among patients treated at the Hospital de Clínicas and the Hospital Departamental de Soriano, Uruguay, to inform future strategies to improve adherence.
Materials and Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted, including 96 breast cancer patients in stages I-III treated with HT for at least three years. Adherence was assessed using the Morisky-Green questionnaire. Statistical analysis was employed to estimate the odds ratios (OR) for non-adherence, with a significance threshold of α=0.05.
Results: Out of the 96 patients included, 22.9% demonstrated suboptimal adherence to hormone therapy. Analysis revealed that the use of tamoxifen (adjusted OR of 4.86, p<0.05) and living with others were significant predictors of non-adherence. The aggressiveness of the treatment did not show a statistically significant correlation with adherence. Additionally, the analysis highlighted that sociodemographic characteristics, such as marital status and employment situation, did not directly influence adherence, underscoring the complexity of factors contributing to treatment adherence. Intriguingly, the analysis showed a trend towards greater adherence among postmenopausal patients and those with a history of combined treatment of tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors, though these results warrant further exploration.
Conclusion: Suboptimal adherence to adjuvant HT in breast cancer patients is significantly influenced by the type of hormone therapy prescribed and the patient's social environment. It is necessary to develop personalized interventions that address these factors to improve adherence.