Joint Pain and Medication Adherence in Postmenopausal Women Receiving Aromatase Inhibitors

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

- Estimate the incidence, time to onset, prevalence, and clinical and demographic
predictors of arthralgia in post-menopausal women with early-stage breast cancer
receiving aromatase inhibitors (AI).

- Chart the trajectory of arthralgia symptom severity over the course of AI treatment in
these patients.

Secondary

- Measure the impact of arthralgia on sleep quality, depression, and physical function in
these patients.

- Develop a roster of current physician-advised or prescribed treatments, including
self-management techniques being used for AI-induced arthralgia, for intervention
development.

OUTLINE: Patients complete questionnaires about joint pain and stiffness, sleep, depression,
physical function, medications and treatment, exercise and social support, demographics,
comorbidities, body mass index (BMI), and performance status at baseline and then
periodically for approximately 1 year after beginning aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy.

Patient medical records are reviewed for comorbidities, BMI, use of prior hormone
replacement therapy, vitamin D levels and deficiency, performance status, histological
stage, prior treatment, and medications at baseline and then periodically for approximately
1 year after beginning AI therapy.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Planning to begin aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy or taken fewer than 10 doses of
adjuvant AI therapy

- Hormone-receptor status not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Postmenopausal

- ECOG performance status 0-1

- Able to understand and respond to questions in English

- No condition that would impair the ability to provide informed consent

- No other non-breast cancer condition

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- No more than 9 prior doses of AI