Antineoplastic drugs prescription during visits by adult cancer patients with comorbidities: findings from the 2010–2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey
Menée aux Etats-Unis à partir de données d'enquête sur la période 2010-2016 et sur des données portant sur 4 672 patients atteints d'un cancer (sein, prostate, côlon-rectum, poumon), cette étude analyse la présence et la nature de comorbidités constatées lors de visites médicales en ambulatoire et les prescriptions de médicaments anticancéreux
Purpose : Cancer treatment may be affected by comorbidities; however, studies are limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the frequency of comorbidities at visits by patients with breast, prostate, colorectal, and lung cancer and to estimate frequency of a prescription for antineoplastic drugs being included in the treatment received at visits by patients with cancer and concomitant comorbidities. Methods : We used nationally representative data on visits to office-based physicians from the 2010–2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and selected visits by adults with breast, prostate, colorectal, or lung cancer (n = 4,672). Nineteen comorbid conditions were examined. Descriptive statistics were calculated for visits by cancer patients with 0, 1, and ≥ 2 comorbidities. Results : From 2010–2016, a total of 10.2 million physician office visits were made annually by adult patients with breast, prostate, colorectal, or lung cancer. Among US visits by adult patients with breast, prostate, colorectal, or lung cancer, 56.3% were by patients with ≥ 1 comorbidity. Hypertension was the most frequently observed comorbidity (37.7%), followed by hyperlipidemia (19.0%) and diabetes (12.3%). Antineoplastic drugs were prescribed in 33.5% of the visits and prescribed at a lower percentage among visits by cancer patients with COPD (21.3% versus 34.3% of visits by cancer patients without COPD) and heart disease (22.7% versus 34.2% of visits by cancer patients without heart disease). Conclusion : Our study provides information about comorbidities in cancer patients being treated by office-based physicians in an ambulatory setting.