A prospective, longitudinal study of health-related quality of life and contributing factors and its impact on medication adherence to oral anticancer agents in real-world patients with leukemia.

Authors

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Benyam Muluneh

Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

Benyam Muluneh , Emily Ong , Abigail Danos , Daniel R Richardson , Ashley Leak Bryant , Jennifer Elston Lafata

Organizations

Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, NC, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, NC

Research Funding

No funding received

Background: Suboptimal rates of non-adherence have been reported in leukemia patients taking oral anticancer agents (OAAs), largely attributed to treatment-related symptoms (TRS). This survey was conducted to describe the complex relationship between adherence, TRS, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods: This is a single arm, observational, prospective, longitudinal study. Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL) on OAAs completed a telephone survey, which included Wilson’s 3-item medication adherence measure, the PROMIS 10-item Global Health Scale (domains: overall QOL, physical/mental/social health), and assessment of TRS using PRO-CTCAE. This survey was repeated three times, two to three months apart. Optimal adherence was defined as greater than 90% per Wilson’s measure. Spearman’s correlation, chi-square tests, as appropriate, to evaluate the association between medication adherence and HRQOL. Results: 77 patients completed the first survey, of which 60.3% were male, with an average age of 62 years old. Diagnoses were: CML (n=28), CLL (n=19), AML (n=19), and ALL (n=11). Optimal adherence rates declined from 70.2% in the 1st survey to 55% by the 3rd survey, whereas HRQOL measures remained stable over time. Most patients (92.2%, n= 71) reported at least one TRS with 42.25% (n= 30) reporting ≥6 symptoms. Patients without TRS were more likely to be adherent than those with symptoms (100% vs. 67%, p=0.17). Specifically, patients with no pain were associated with higher adherence (p= 0.084). Those who rated their mental health and overall quality of life (QOL) as ‘excellent,’‘very good,’ or ‘good’ had numerically a higher adherence rate (73% with optimal adherence) than those rating it as ‘fair’ or ‘poor,’ (59-61% had optimal adherence), although not statistically significant. The number of TRS reported from PRO-CTCAE significantly affected patients’ reported QOL: patients reporting 0-5 number of TRS were more likely to report higher QOL (‘excellent,’‘very good,’ or ‘good’) than those reporting ≥6 TRS (p = 0.0004). Conclusions: Adherence rates in leukemia patients on OAAs were suboptimal and declined over time. TRS were common and inversely associated with HRQOL, even though adherence was not strongly correlated: patients with high adherence still reported fair or poor HRQOL. Given the numerous and varied factors contributing to non-adherence and HRQOL issues in leukemia patients, a multi-modality support program is essential.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session A

Track

Quality, Safety, and Implementation Science,Cost, Value, and Policy,Patient Experience,Palliative and Supportive Care

Sub Track

Symptom Prevention, Assessment, and Management

Citation

JCO Oncol Pract 20, 2024 (suppl 10; abstr 270)

DOI

10.1200/OP.2024.20.10_suppl.270

Abstract #

270

Poster Bd #

E15

Abstract Disclosures