Evaluation of patient adherence with oral anticancer agents

ABSTRACT Background: The aim of the study was to measure the adherence to oral anticancer treatments in cancer patients using the Modified Morisky Scale (Modified Medication Adherence Scale 6) which has been shown to be valid and reliable in Turkish. Methods: This study was an observational, single-center study involving 300 cancer patients receiving various oral anticancer agents admitted to our outpatient clinic. Motivation and knowledge scores were calculated as per the Modified Medication Adherence Scale 6. Results: The motivation and knowledge levels of the population aged less than 65 years were found to be significantly higher than the geriatric population (≥65 years old) ( P < .003 and P< .001, respectively). It was observed that the patients with higher education levels had significantly higher motivation and knowledge levels ( P < .0001 for both). There was no correlation between the motivation and knowledge levels of the patients with gender, marital status, living status, and stage of the disease ( P > .05). In addition, the duration of drug use >12 months and the cyclical use of drugs were also found to be significantly associated with increased motivation and knowledge levels. Conclusion: Identifying adherence and related factors, informing patients in detail about the efficacy and toxicity of treatments are the simplest and most basic methods. Particular attention should be paid to patients aged > 65 years, patients with a low level of education, and patients in the earlier stages of their treatments.