Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Jan;10(1):48-54.
doi: 10.1200/JOP.2013.000920. Epub 2013 Sep 10.

Do community-based patient assistance programs affect the treatment and well-being of patients with breast cancer?

Nina A Bickell  1 , Andrea N Geduld, Kathie-Ann Joseph, Joseph A Sparano, M Margaret Kemeny, Soji Oluwole, Tehillah Menes, Anitha Srinivasan, Rebeca Franco, Kezhen Fei, Howard Leventhal
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Do community-based patient assistance programs affect the treatment and well-being of patients with breast cancer?

Nina A Bickell et al. J Oncol Pract. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: Patients with breast cancer who need adjuvant treatments often fail to receive them. High-quality, community-based patient-assistance programs are an underused, inexpensive resource to help patients with cancer obtain needed therapy. We sought to determine whether connecting women to patient-assistance programs would reduce underuse of adjuvant therapies.

Methods: We conducted a randomized trial of 374 women (190 assigned intervention [INT], 184 to usual care [UC]) with early-stage breast cancer who underwent surgery between October 2006 and August 2009. After initial needs assessment, individualized action plans were created to connect INT patients with targeted patient-assistance programs; UC patients received an informational pamphlet. Main outcome measures were receiving adjuvant treatment and obtaining help.

Results: High rates of INT and UC patients received treatment: 87% INT versus 91% UC women who underwent lumpectomy received radiotherapy (P = .39); 93% INT versus 86% UC women with estrogen receptor (ER) -negative tumors ≥ 1 cm received chemotherapy (P = .42); 92% INT versus 93% UC women with ER-positive tumors ≥ 1 cm received hormonal therapy (P = .80). Many women reported needs: 63% had informational; 55%, psychosocial; and 53%, practical needs. High rates of INT patients with needs connected with a program within 2 weeks (92%). At 6 months, INT and UC women used patient-assistance programs at similar rates (75% v 76%; P = .54). Women with informational or psychosocial needs were more likely to receive help (relative risk [RR], 1.77; 95% CI, 1.51 to 1.90 and RR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.61, respectively).

Conclusion: INT and UC patients received high rates of adjuvant treatment regardless of trial assignment. Patients with breast cancer who connect to relevant patient assistance programs receive useful informational and psychosocial but not practical help.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00233077.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
CONSORT diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hewitt M, Greenfield S, Stovall E: From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition 2006Washington, DC: National Academies Press
    1. Shelby RA Taylor KL Kerner JF, etal: The role of community-based and philanthropic organizations in meeting cancer patient and caregiver needs CA Cancer J Clin 52:229–246,2002 - PubMed
    1. Battaglia TA Roloff K Posner MA, etal: Improving follow-up to abnormal breast cancer screening in an urban population: A patient navigation intervention Cancer 109:359–367,2007suppl - PubMed
    1. Donelan K Mailhot JR Dutwin D, etal: Patient perspectives of clinical care and patient navigation in follow-up of abnormal mammography J Gen Intern Med 26:116–122,2011 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Freeman HP, Rodriguez RL: History and principles of patient navigation Cancer 117:3539–3542,2011suppl - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data