Aromatase Inhibitor Symptom Management Practices: A Retrospective Study

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are crucial for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer treatment.
• AI-associated symptoms frequently lead to early discontinuation of therapy.
• Current guidelines exist for managing AI-induced symptoms, but physician adherence is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the prevalence of symptom documentation in patients receiving AI therapy.
• To evaluate physician adherence to established guidelines for managing AI-associated symptoms.
• To identify factors influencing symptom management and guideline adherence.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer prescribed AIs.
• Analysis of symptom documentation (musculoskeletal, vasomotor, urogenital) and treatment strategies.
• Comparison of treatments against National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and ACS/ASCO guidelines.

Main Results:

• 82% of patients on AI therapy experienced at least one symptom; 46% had multiple symptoms.
• 66% of patients with documented symptoms received some form of palliative treatment.
• Only 52% of patients received guideline-based treatments, either alone or in combination.

Conclusions:

• Despite high symptom prevalence (82% documented), guideline-based treatment adherence is suboptimal.
• Physician adherence to AI symptom management guidelines requires improvement to support treatment continuation.
• Further research may explore barriers to guideline implementation in clinical practice.