Up to 1 in 4 Patients Skip Oral Cancer Drugs on Costs

The drug associated with the highest rate of patient abandonment at the drug counter, 27.2% of 460 patients, was seen for the drug sorafenib, which is used to treat advanced renal cell cancer.  The second highest rate, 13.5% of 1,380 patients, was seen for prescriptions for imatinib, which treats certain forms of leukemia.

Other medications associated with abandonment rates between 6.2% and 12.8% were, capecitabine, temozolomide, lenalidomide, sunitinib, lapatinib, erlotinib, which treat cancers of the breast and colon, brain and skin, bone marrow, gastrointestinal system, breast and lung.

The researchers drew their conclusions from a pharmacy claims database for 10,508 Medicare and commercial insurance patients whose cancer treatment prescriptions were written between 2007 and 2009.

Eligible patients were those who had no prior cancer drug prescription claims, and who did not have subsequent substitution oral cancer drug claims, so as to eliminate those who may have had replacement drugs prescribed.