Supporting adherence to adjuvant CDK4/6 inhibitors in women with early breast cancer (SWEET-PLUS)

Research summary

SWEET-PLUS aims to identify determinants of (non-)adherence to CDK4/6 inhibitors for women who have had early stage oestrogen positive breast cancer, and use that information to co-develop an intervention to support women adhere to these drugs alongside endocrine therapy. These drugs have been shown in trials to be effective; they can reduce the risk of the cancer coming back by a quarter (25%) and are associated with improved survival. To get the full benefit of these new medicines, women need to take them as recommended. However, this can be hard. Sometimes women experience side-effect; the medication taking regime can be complex; and patients have to return to the hospital regularly for toxicity monitoring and to receive their next prescription. We want to support women to continue taking these medicines but need to understand how best to provide this support. The study will be a cross-sectional qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with women who have been prescribed abemaciclib or ribociclib, and focus groups/interviews with healthcare professionals (HCPs) who prescribe these drugs and/or who support women who have been prescribed them. The study will also involve at least two co-design online user workshops to develop an intervention to support adherence to CDK4/6 inhibitors and subsequent user testing of the intervention.

Principal Investigator

Dr Nicola C Levitt

Contact us

Email: latephaseoncology@ouh.nhs.uk

IRAS number

346275