Can Smartphone Apps Improve Medication Adherence in Patients With Breast Cancer?

By: Victoria Kuhr, MS
Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Medisafe, a smartphone medication reminder and tracker app, may improve medication adherence in nonadherent patients with breast cancer and those who face logistical challenges interfering with taking their medication. Additionally, Claire Sathe, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, New York, and colleagues observed that smartphone apps may be associated with high patient satisfaction for those with breast cancer. These findings were published in JCO Oncology Practice.

“Given the increased use of novel oral anticancer drugs, resulting in complex oral medication regimens, future research should focus on identifying and testing other intervention components targeting the diverse barriers to adherence faced by patients with cancer,” said the study authors.

The use of Medisafe was tested over 12 weeks among patients who were receiving breast cancer treatment and at least one oral medication. Study participants were instructed to generate adherence reports every 4 weeks through Medisafe and completed the intervention if more than 50% of reports were generated. The primary study endpoint was feasibility of the intervention at a completion rate of more than 75% of consented patients. Secondary study endpoints included changes in self-reported nonadherence from baseline to 12 weeks and patient-reported outcomes, including reasons for nonadherence and satisfaction with Medisafe.

Of the 100 patients enrolled in the study, 78 completed the intervention. Older patients and patients from racial and ethnic minority groups, who are often underrepresented in the mobile health intervention literature, were as likely to complete the intervention as younger and White patients, the investigators noted. Self-reported adherence did not seem to improve after the intervention in the overall study population. However, 25% of patients taking oral anticancer drugs and 46% of patients taking nonoral anticancer drugs reported nonadherence at baseline. When the study authors selected only for study participants who reported baseline nonadherence alone, 26% of nonadherent self-reports became fully adherent after the intervention. Study participants reported high levels of satisfaction with Medisafe, noting the app was highly functional and provided high-quality information.

Disclosure: Dr. Sathe reported no conflicts of interest. For full disclosures of the other study authors, visit ascopubs.org.

JCO Oncology Practice

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