Patients' knowledge and experience of adjuvant endocrine therapy for early breast cancer: a European study

Citation

Wengstrom Y, Aapro M, di Priolo SL, Cannon H & Georgiou V (2007) Patients' knowledge and experience of adjuvant endocrine therapy for early breast cancer: a European study. The Breast, 16 (5), pp. 462-468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2007.02.007

Abstract
Little is known about patients’ experience of, and knowledge about adjuvant endocrine therapy. A European survey was carried out to explore this knowledge gap. The 547 post-menopausal women with early breast cancer, from 9 European countries, completed a questionnaire about their experience and knowledge of their therapy. Forty one percent of women surveyed were not at all involved in the decision to start adjuvant endocrine therapy and only 10% were fully involved. Only 57% received information about possible side effects, 26% about the risk of their cancer returning and 15% about the possible long term effects of treatment. Older women, less educated women or those without Internet access were less likely to receive information or be involved in decision making. Women’s right to information and involvement in decision making are not respected. Greater efforts are required to ensure that all patients understand how different therapies work so that they can make informed decisions.

Keywords
Adjuvant endocrine therapy; decision making; Early breast cancer; information needs; Post-menopausal; recurrence risk; Breast Cancer; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant methods

Journal
The Breast: Volume 16, Issue 5