Generics May Improve Adherence in Breast Cancer Patients, Study Finds

Access to generic hormone therapy medicines improves the chances that breast cancer patients will stick with their drug treatment, a new study found.

"We know that hormone therapy for women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer can reduce recurrence by up to 50%," study leader Dr Dawn Hershman, an associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, said in a hospital news release.

"However, work by our group and others has shown that a substantial number of women discontinue treatment before the recommended 5 years or do not take the prescribed dose," she added.

"Our findings suggest that more effort should be made to reduce out-of-pocket costs for these potentially life-saving medications. This is especially important given the rapid increase of expensive oral cancer therapies," explained Hershman, who is also an associate professor of medicine at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Read the complete report on MedlinePlus: http://1.usa.gov/1qnlIJi