Abstract
Purpose
Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy will sometimes conceal their discomfort, but an excessive endurance for adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can lead to a poorer prognosis. The aim of this study was to clarify the association between ADR endurance and a preference of cancer patients for aggressive treatments.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was undertaken of inpatients under 75 years of age receiving injectable systemic chemotherapy or oral chronic medications at hospitals in Japan. Subjects were asked to respond to a validated questionnaire to assess the extent of their ADR endurance and whether they would choose a novel, more aggressive therapy if their life expectancy was estimated at 2 years.
Results
Study participants were separated into the chemotherapy group (n = 36) and the non-chemotherapy group (n = 78). In the chemotherapy group, patients who had moderate ADR endurance scores were more likely to choose the new therapy (0–33, 34–67, and 68–100 points: 0.0, 54.5, and 27.3 %; χ 2 test, p = 0.15). Additionally, every patient on long-term chemotherapy (≥3 years) had high ADR endurance scores but did not choose the new, riskier treatment. In the non-chemotherapy group, the proportion of those choosing the new therapy was linearly associated with higher ADR endurance scores (25.9, 38.2, and 64.7 %; p = 0.04).
Conclusion
Cancer patients may prefer aggressive therapies, even when self-estimations of ADR endurance are not very high, especially if they have been receiving chemotherapy for a short period of time. These patients should be observed with great caution.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Hiroshi Muguruma, Kana Sumiyoshi, Eitoku Matsuoka, Kiyo Suzuki, Yoshie Isobe, Nami Mizukawa, and Kumiko Kushida for their assistance with data collection.
Funding
This work was supported by a research grant from the Pfizer Health Research Foundation. The funding source had no role in the collection or analysis of the study data.
Conflict of interest
Dr. Houchi received a research grant from Pfizer Japan Inc. The remaining authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors have full control of all primary data and agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested.
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Iihara, N., Nishio, T., Goda, T. et al. Effect of endurance for adverse drug reactions on the preference for aggressive treatments in cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 23, 1091–1097 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2439-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2439-1