The following is a summary of “Patterns and predictors of electronically measured oral anticancer medication (OAM) adherence among patients with multiple myeloma (MM).,” published in the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting under the issue of Oncology by Belcher et al.
Prior research highlighted the importance of adherence to expensive, long-term oral anticancer medications (OAM) for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and its impact on treatment success. Still, data on actual adherence rates remained limited.
Researchers conducted a prospective study using electronic event monitoring (EEM) data to describe how adherence to OAM changes over time and identify factors influencing adherence among patients with MM.
They conducted a six-month study utilizing EEM involving 70 patients with MM on OAM maintenance therapy. Patient-reported symptom measures and sociodemographic data were collected alongside medical records at enrollment, 3 and 6 months. Group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) analyzed EEM data from MEMS smart pill bottles aggregated monthly over 6 months. The adherence rates and predictors of adherence trajectory using bivariate correlations were explored.
The results showed that participants, with an average age of 63.9 years (SD=10.6), were predominantly male (55.9%) and non-Hispanic white (86.8%) or Black (10.3%) and were prescribed lenalidomide (68.6%) or pomalidomide (31.4%) for a median of 11.5 months (IQR: 22, range: 0-100). For mean dose adherence, three distinct trajectories were identified, approximately 62.9% were in the high (~97% adherence) and slightly linear decreasing adherence group (π3 =.627); around 27.1% were in the high/moderate and curvilinear decreasing group (π2=.272), representing 85% adherence at start, dropping to <70% by 6 months; and approximately 10% exhibited a low and curvilinear pattern (π1=.100), representing only ~40% adherence over time. For mean days adherence, two distinct trajectories emerged, high and linear decreasing (81.4%, π2=.801), representing adherence starting at 90%, dropping to 85%; and low and stable (18.6%, π1=.199), representing ~40% adherence over time. Baseline predictors’ effect sizes for the low trajectory group ranged from .02 to .37 (median r = .20, small). Non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic “other” participants were more prone to being in low adherence trajectory groups for both dose (P=.009) and days (P=.010).
Investigators concluded that EEM data revealed dynamic OAM adherence patterns in patients with MM, suggesting potential interventions to address racial/ethnic disparities.
Source: meetings.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/232771
