TITLE:
Work Productivity and Activity Impairment in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Capecitabine
AUTHORS:
Marco Vacante, Giulia Malaguarnera, Manuela Pennisi, Giuseppe Grosso, Salvatore Salomone, Filippo Drago, Erdogan Ozyalcin, Vito Catania, Alfredo Consoli, Mariano Malaguarnera
KEYWORDS:
Breast Cancer; Capecitabine; Work Productivity; Absenteeism; Presenteeism
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.4 No.7,
September
4,
2013
ABSTRACT: Background: Although the majority of breast cancer patients are able
to work, lower work ability and reduced job retention have been reported. The aim of the present study
was to evaluate the effect of chemotherapy with capecitabine in patients with
breast cancer on work productivity and daily activity. Methods: 34 patients with metastatic breast cancer were enrolled
for our study. Capecitabine was given twice daily at a cumulative dose of 2500
mg/m2 on days 1 - 14 and repeated on
day 22. Work productivity was determined using the WPAI questionnaire. Results: We observed an increase in absenteeism, presenteeism,
work productivity loss and daily activity impairment after 1 cycle and 6 cycles
of therapy, but we could not find statistically different significances. Conclusions: This study provides some data indicating an association between problems in
breast cancer and work. Our results confirm that capecitabine may improve
quality of life of patients with metastatic
breast cancer.