Assessment of Breast Cancer Patients' Knowledge and Decisional Conflict Regarding Tamoxifen Use

Breast cancer is the most common type of female cancer. Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, is widely used to decrease breast cancer recurrence and mortality among patients. However, it also increases the risk of endometrial cancer. This study aimed to assess knowledge and decisional conflict regarding tamoxifen use. Between June and October 2014, breast cancer patients using tamoxifen were consecutively screened and requested to complete a survey including the EQ-5D, Satisfaction with Decision Scale (SWD), Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS), and a self-developed, 15-item questionnaire measuring tamoxifen-related knowledge. The study sample comprised 299 patients. The mean total knowledge score was 63.4 of a possible 100.0 (range, 13.3-93.3). While 73.9% of the participants knew that tamoxifen reduces the risk of breast cancer recurrence, only 57.9% knew that the drug increases endometrial cancer risk. A higher education level (> or =college) was associated with a higher, total knowledge score (beta = 4.291; P = 0.017). A higher knowledge score was associated with a decreased DCS score (beta = -0.366; P < 0.001). A higher SWD score was also associated with decreased decisional conflict (beta = -0.178; P < 0.001). In conclusion, the breast cancer patients with higher levels of tamoxifen-related knowledge showed lower levels of decisional conflict regarding tamoxifen use. Clinicians should provide the exact information about tamoxifen treatment to patients, based on knowledge assessment results, so as to aid patients' decision-making with minimal conflict.

Trends in the Use of Chemotherapy before and after Radical Cystectomy in Patients with Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer in Korea

We investigated trends in perioperative chemotherapy use, and determined factors associated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) use in Korean patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). We recruited 1,324 patients who had MIBC without nodal invasion or metastases and had undergone radical cystectomies (RC) between 2003 and 2013. The study's cut-off time for AC was three months after surgery, and the study's timespan was divided into three periods based on NAC use, namely, 2003-2005, 2006-2009, and 2010-2013. Complete remission was defined as histologically confirmed T0N0M0 after RC. NAC and AC were administered to 7.3% and 18.1% of the patients, respectively. The median time interval between completing NAC and undergoing RC was 32 days and the mean number of cycles was 3.2. The median time interval between RC and AC was 43 days and the mean number of cycles was 4.1. Gemcitabine and cisplatin were most frequently used in combination for NAC (49.0%) and AC (74.9%). NAC use increased significantly from 4.6% between 2003 and 2005 to 8.4% between 2010 and 2013 (P < 0.05), but AC use did not increase. Only 1.9% of patients received NAC and AC. Complete remission after NAC was achieved in 12 patients (12.5%). Multivariable modeling revealed that an advanced age, the earliest time period analyzed, and clinical tumor stage < or = cT2 bladder cancer were negatively associated with NAC use (P < 0.05). While NAC use has slowly increased over time, it remains an underutilized therapeutic approach in Korean clinical practice.