Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26404861›Full record

ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2016

Medication use by early-stage breast cancer survivors: a 1-year longitudinal study.

Kep Yong Loh, Terence Ng, Chee Ping Lee, Raymond Ng, Alexandre Chan

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Nutrition education experience and needs of patients undergoing chemotherapy for colorectal cancer: a qualitative study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kep Yong LohDepartment of Pharmacy, National Cancer Centre, Singapore, Singapore.
Terence NgDepartment of Pharmacy, National Cancer Centre, Singapore, Singapore.
Chee Ping LeeDepartment of Pharmacy, National Cancer Centre, Singapore, Singapore.
Raymond NgDivision of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Alexandre ChanDepartment of Pharmacy, National Cancer Centre, Singapore, Singapore. phaac@nus.edu.sg.
National Cancer Centre Singapore · SGNational University of Singapore · SG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe aim of this study is to characterize the patterns of medication use by early-stage breast cancer (ESBC) survivors from diagnosis to 1 year post-chemotherapy.

methodsA single-center longitudinal study was conducted with ESBC patients diagnosed between December 2011 and June 2014. Data on the medication use of individual patients were retrieved from prescription databases, supplemented by records from the National Electronic Health Records. The data covered the period from ESBC diagnosis to 1 year post-chemotherapy. Medication types were classified according to the World Health Organization's Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system, and medication for chronic diseases was created by adapting a list of 20 chronic diseases provided by the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services.

resultsOf the 107 patients involved in the study (mean age 51.1 ± 8.4 years; 78.5 % Chinese), 46.7 % manifested non-cancer comorbidities, of which hypertension (24.3 %) was the most prevalent, followed by hyperlipidemia (13.1 %) and diabetes (5.6 %). Calcium channel blockers (12.1 %) and lipid-modifying agents (11.2 %) were the most common chronic medication types used before chemotherapy, and their use persisted during chemotherapy (10.3 and 11.2 %, respectively) and after chemotherapy (11.2 and 13.1 %, respectively). Hormonal therapy was the predominant post-chemotherapy medication (77.6 %). A statistically significant increase (p < 0.0001) was observed in the mean number of chronic disease medication classes prescribed to patients between the pre-chemotherapy (0.53 ± 1.04) and chemotherapy (0.62 ± 1.08) periods and between the chemotherapy and post-chemotherapy (1.63 ± 1.35) periods.

conclusionsThere is an increase in trend of chronic medication usage in breast cancer survivors after cancer treatment. This study provides important insights into the design of medication management programs tailored to this population. Future studies should incorporate a control population to improve the interpretation of study results.

Indexed as

AdultBreast NeoplasmsComorbidityDrug PrescriptionsFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMiddle AgedSurvivorsUnited StatesCancer survivorChemotherapyEarly-stage breast cancerMedication managementMedication use

Identifiers

PMID26404861
PMCPMC4766201
OpenAlexW1956521233

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.