Update
A poster was presented at JADPRO Live 2023, the Annual Meeting of the Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO), highlighting the results from the Patient Survey – suggesting actions to improve patient-caregiver communication.
About the Patient-Centered Dosing Initiative (PCDI)
The PCDI, which consists of patient advocates and an Advisory Board of Medical Oncologists, encourages physicians and patients to jointly discuss dosages upon treatment initiation and throughout treatment, taking into account the patient’s personal wishes and unique characteristics such as age, availability of at-home care, history of side effects and more. Most MBC treatments are generally provided in a range of dosages. When starting a treatment, patients are usually placed on the standard (highest) dose – which can cause the most side effects.
Once a patient experiences significant side effects, their doctor may reduce the dose or frequency of the treatment to ease the patient’s side effects. Although additional data is warranted, recent evidence regarding several MBC drugs has shown that prescribing approved reduced drug doses may not decrease effectiveness.
Contributions by PCDI patient advocates include:
- Delivered an Oral Presentation regarding MBC Patient Survey Results at ASCO’s 2021 Worldwide Meeting
- Presented at the 2021 Pan-Amazonian Oncology Conference
- Panelist at Friends of Cancer Research (FOCR) 2021 Annual Meeting “Maximizing Benefit and Improving Tolerability for Patients Through Dose Optimization”
- Panelist at FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence Workshop “More Isn’t Always Better: Understanding Cancer Treatment Tolerability” 3/2022
- Panelist at FDA’s & ASCO’s Workshop “Getting the Dose Right: Optimizing Dose Selection Strategies in Oncology” 5/2022
- Janice Cowden and Anne Loeser participated on ASCO leadership team on a CDK4/6 inhibitor dose titration study for PCORI (response due 7/23)
- Presented Medical Oncologists Survey results in a poster at SABCS 2021, & published “Patient‑centered dosing: oncologists’ perspectives about treatment‑related side effects and individualized dosing for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC)” in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 9/2022
- Created two flyers: one designed to help patients discuss treatment-related side effects with their doctors, and a second – targeted specifically at healthcare providers
- Presented Patient Survey results in a poster suggesting actions to improve patient-caregiver communication at JADPRO Live 2023 – the annual meeting of the Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO). Listen to Martha Carlson’s discussion of the poster here
PCDI SUBCOMMITTEE
(hover over or click on individual photos for identification)
