Association between long-term use of prolactin-elevating antipsychotics in women and the risk of breast cancer: What are the clinical implications?

BACKGROUND: Some antipsychotic drugs elevate prolactin, and hyperprolactinaemia is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Women with schizophrenia have an increased incidence of breast cancer, but also multiple risk factors for the condition. METHOD: This paper will critically review recent epidemiological studies concerning antipsychotics and breast cancer from a psychiatric perspective. RESULTS: Two recent epidemiological studies have found an association between use of prolactin-elevating antipsychotics and breast cancer in women with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Prolactin-elevating drugs include paliperidone, risperidone, amisulpride and haloperidol, whilst prolactin-sparing antipsychotics included aripiprazole, brexpiprazole, cariprazine and quetiapine. In the two studies, estimated increased risks of breast cancer were disconcertingly high (up to 62%), but a third recent study found only a weak dose-response association. There are extensive methodological complications in this research, including the extent to which studies measure other risk factors for breast cancer and disagreement about the extent of prolactin elevation by some antipsychotics. CONCLUSION: Although causation between prolactin elevating antipsychotics and breast cancer in women has not been demonstrated, recent epidemiological reports are worrying. For women on antipsychotics, informed consent should ideally include discussion of breast cancer concerns within the wider context of treatment benefits and risks.

Consumer perspectives of telehealth in ambulatory care in an Australian health network.

We aimed to explore consumer experiences of ambulatory telehealth services and whether consumer experiences differed according to whether they received their consultation using telephone or video technology. We conducted structured telephone interviews with patient consumers who had received a recent remote consultation by telephone or video call, at local ambulatory allied health or multidisciplinary services within a large public metropolitan public health network. Respondents were asked about their recent experience and future choices in relation to telehealth. Responses from consumers who received telephone and video consultations were compared. Consumers from community rehabilitation, community health, allied health outpatients, multidisciplinary specialist clinics and mental health services participated (n = 379), of whom 245 received a telephone consultation (65%) and 134 a video consultation (35%). Almost half of respondents (49%) expressed preference for future face-to-face care and 29% reported they would choose to use telehealth over face-to-face consultation for a similar appointment again. Many commented that they would be influenced by the type of consultation required and expressed a desire to have a choice. Approximately 80% of both groups reported they had achieved the desired outcome from their telehealth consultation. Consumers using video were more likely to experience technical issues. Telehealth met the needs of most consumers, and responses were similar for telephone and video consultations.

Paliperidone palmitate three-month depot formulation: a helpful innovation with practical pitfalls.

OBJECTIVE: Paliperidone palmitate is now available as a three-month depot injection. This paper will review the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, efficacy and tolerability, as well as practical issues and pitfalls for clinicians with this innovative treatment for schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: The three-month depot formulation of paliperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia is not a new compound. The nanocrystalline structure of the three-month formulation is larger and takes longer to disperse than the one-month formulation, hence its extended depot action. As expected, it is non-inferior to one-month depot paliperidone, and superior to placebo, for the treatment of schizophrenia. The side effect profile of three-month paliperidone is identical to the one-month formulation. The relapse rate on treatment is low, and the median time to relapse after ceasing the drug is 395 days. An understanding of half-life and kinetics is crucial for clinicians using this compound, and the loading strategy is important to ensure effectiveness. There are significant challenges: ensuring timely administration and switching a three-month depot treatment to another antipsychotic may be problematic. Paliperidone palmitate three-month depot injection represents an advance for both convenience and effectiveness in the long term psychopharmacological treatment of schizophrenia.