Women's preferences for selective estrogen reuptake modulators: an investigation using the time trade-off technique

• Main Authors: Ralph, Angelique, Ager, Brittany, Bell, Melanie, Collins, Ian, Andrews, Lesley, Tucker, Kathy, O'Reilly, Nicole, Phillips, Kelly-Anne, Butow, Phyllis
• Other Authors: School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
• Language: en
• Published: SpringerOpen 2014
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Chemoprevention; SERMs; Patient preferences; BRCA1
• Online Access: Ralph et al. SpringerPlus 2014, 3:264 http://www.springerplus.com/content/3/1/264; http://hdl.handle.net/10150/610252; http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/handle/10150/610252

PURPOSE:Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) reduce the risk of breast cancer for women at increased risk by 38%. However, uptake is extremely low and the reasons for this are not completely understood. The aims of this study were to utilize time trade-off methods to determine the degree of risk reduction required to make taking SERMs worthwhile to women, and the factors associated with requiring greater risk reduction to take SERMs.METHODS:Women at increased risk of breast cancer (N=107) were recruited from two familial cancer clinics in Australia. Participants completed a questionnaire either online or in pen and paper format. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the data.RESULTS:Overall, there was considerable heterogeneity in the degree of risk reduction required to make taking SERMs worthwhile. Women with higher perceived breast cancer risk and those with stronger intentions to undergo (or who had undergone) an oophorectomy required a smaller degree of risk reduction to consider taking SERMs worthwhile.CONCLUSION:Women at increased familial risk appear motivated to consider SERMs for prevention. A tailored approach to communicating about medical prevention is essential. Health professionals could usefully highlight the absolute (rather than relative) probability of side effects and take into account an individual's perceived (rather than objective) risk of breast cancer.