Co-occurring substance use disorder: The impact on treatment adherence in women with locally advanced cervical cancer

Publication date: Available online 27 March 2019Source: Gynecologic Oncology ReportsAuthor(s): Lisa A. Rubinsak, Mishka Terplan, Caitlin E. Martin, Emma C. Fields, William P. McGuire, Sarah M. TemkinAbstractThe purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of substance use disorder and its association with adherence to treatment and survival in locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with primary radiation therapy. This is a retrospective case series of locally advanced cervical cancer patients with substance use disorder in a single academic institution treated with radiation therapy between 2005 and 2016. Substance use disorder was identified through chart review. Those with substance use disorder were compared to those without in regards to demographics, Charlson comorbidity index, treatment details and outcomes. Of the 129 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer, 16 (12.4%) were identified as having substance use - were younger (42.1 years vs 51.5 years, p = .013) and more likely to be smokers (81.3% vs 42.5%, p = .004). The majority of patients with substance use disorder received concurrent chemotherapy (93.8%) and brachytherapy in addition to external beam radiation therapy (81.3%). There was no significant difference in days to completion of radiation therapy between patients with and without substance use disorder. Radiation dose received, toxicities and survival were similar between groups. Among cervical cancer patients receiving...
Source: Gynecologic Oncology Reports - Category: OBGYN Source Type: research