Background and Aim
Medicine access programmes (MAP) in oncology increasingly provide treatment that is otherwise unavailable to Australian patients. The KARMA multi-site national registry was developed to capture comprehensive treatment and outcome data for metastatic breast cancer patients that participated in the compassionate access ribociclib MAP from 2017-2018. Along with efficacy and safety data, a patient-reported outcomes (PRO) sub-study was developed to explore patients’ understanding about MAPs.
Methods
We approached patients from the KARMA registry who remain on ribociclib in combination with an aromatase inhibitor, having been enrolled initially in the ribociclib MAP. A PRO questionnaire was developed and patients interviewed via telephone to explore their awareness and experience of the ribociclib MAP.
Results
30 of 160 (19%) patients in KARMA were interviewed, with similar mean age (57.4 vs 53.6 years, p=0.11) but longer median time on ribociclib (33.6 vs 16.6 months, p<0.001) than patients not interviewed. 12 of 30 patients (40%) understood that ribociclib was first prescribed through a MAP, 10 (33%) reported that ribociclib prescription was through a clinical trial, 5 (17%) via government funding and 3 (10%) unsure. 28 of 30 (93%) patients felt fortunate to have access to an otherwise non-funded medication. 20 of 30 (67%) reported that they were more likely to be medication adherent on a MAP. When correlating PROs with clinician records, 17 of 30 (57%) patients reported dose reduction/interruption due to side effects compared to 23 of 30 (77%) reported by clinicians.
Conclusion
Patients surveyed had limited recollection how ribociclib was first provided. This is potentially explained by impaired recall over time but indicates a need for further education and improvement of the consent process. Increased patient awareness of access to new therapies may enhance treatment adherence. PRO data is an opportunity to explore patient experience to add to real-world registry data.