Preferences for oral versus intravenous adjuvant chemotherapy among early breast cancer patients

Makoto Ishitobi,¹ Kazuyo Shibuya,² Yoshifumi Komoike,¹ Hiroki Koyama,¹ Hideo Inaji<sup>1

1</sup>Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, ²Department of Nursing, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Japan

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate preferences for oral versus intravenous adjuvant chemotherapy among early breast cancer patients (UMIN-CTR number UMIN000004696).
Patients and methods: Eighty-two postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth-factor receptor 2-negative breast cancer who had completed adjuvant chemotherapy were asked about their preferred route of administration of chemotherapy and the reason. Women also answered questions about their physical and psychological status and quality of life during chemotherapy.
Results: Patients who had received oral chemotherapy preferred it more frequently than those who had received intravenous chemotherapy (100% versus 37%, respectively, chi-square =15.5; P<0.001). Patients who preferred the same route of administration of chemotherapy as they had previously received showed a significantly better psychological status during chemotherapy compared with those who preferred a different route.
Conclusion: Our study showed that preferences for oral and intravenous chemotherapy strongly depended on the actual prior administration of chemotherapy and patients' own experiences during chemotherapy.

Keywords: breast cancer, adjuvant, chemotherapy, patient preference, oral, intravenous