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Antidepressant prescribing in community cancer care

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Supportive Care in Cancer Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Goals

To describe patterns of antidepressant (ADs) prescribing in community oncology practice.

Patients and methods

Data were collected using an electronic medical record on all staged breast, colon, and lung cancer patients in three community-based oncology practices. The data were analyzed retrospectively, using descriptive and bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression modeling. There were 850 breast, 299 colon, and 473 lung cancer patients identified in this analysis.

Main results

Overall, 19.2% of breast, 11% of colon, and 13.7% of lung cancer patients had been prescribed ADs during the 2-year period. The clinic in which cancer treatment was received predicted AD prescribing. The relationship between AD administration and age proved to be nonlinear; the pattern exhibited an "inverted U" shape. Patients with comorbidities and on pain medications were more likely to be administered ADs. Colon cancer patients on pain medications were five times more likely to be administered ADs than those not on pain medications.

Conclusions

While some predictors of AD prescribing appear to be consistent with other studies, such as being on pain medication, there is still a great amount of variability in prescribing patterns across community practices, age groups, and cancer diagnoses. This study demonstrates that prescriptions of ADs seem to be influenced by parameters other than psychopathology. Given the importance of major depression in oncology care, diagnosis of psychiatric disorders and prescription patterns of psychotropics should be part of the routine monitoring and quality management in oncology patient care.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge Dr. Larry Matson and Ms. Rachel Rothman for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Dr. William Edell passed away in November 2002; the authors were grateful for his intellectual contribution, interest, and collegial nature—he is missed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. OpTx Corporation, 304 Inverness Way South, Suite 365, Englewood, CO , 80112, USA

    Fredrick D. Ashbury, Lisa Madlensky, Geoff Whitney, Boris Kralj & William S. Edell

  2. AMC Cancer Research Center, 1600 Pierce St., Denver, CO, USA

    Peter Raich

  3. Mid–Ohio Oncology/Hematology, Inc., 745 W State St., Suite 550B, Columbus, OH, USA

    Mark Thompson

  4. OpTx Corporation, 705–386 Broadway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 3R6 , Canada

    Ken Hotz

Authors
  1. Fredrick D. Ashbury
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  2. Lisa Madlensky
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  3. Peter Raich
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  4. Mark Thompson
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  5. Geoff Whitney
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  6. Ken Hotz
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  7. Boris Kralj
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  8. William S. Edell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fredrick D. Ashbury.

Additional information

Drs. Ashbury, Hotz, Edell, and Mr. Whitney are employed by OpTx Corporation, Englewood, Colorado, USA. Dr. Ashbury is also affiliated with the Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Canada and the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Drs. Madlensky and Kralj are consultants to OpTx Corporation, Englewood, Colorado, USA. Dr. Raich is a medical oncologist at Denver Health and a scientist with the AMC Cancer Research Center in Denver, Colorado, USA. Dr. Thompson is a medical oncologist with Mid–Ohio Oncology/Hematology, Inc., in Columbus, Ohio, USA

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Ashbury, F.D., Madlensky, L., Raich, P. et al. Antidepressant prescribing in community cancer care. Support Care Cancer 11, 278–285 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-003-0446-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-003-0446-8

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