Somerset breast cancer patients asked to join study into medication side effects
The SWITCH study is looking at whether changing drug brands makes symptoms better or worse
A specialist breast cancer nurse has teamed up with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust's research team to look into how changing the brand of a common medication affects patients' side effects.
Adjuvant endocrine treatment is often prescribed to reduce the risk of breast cancer returning, but it can bring difficult side effects, including menopausal symptoms.
The national study, called SWITCH, is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and sponsored by University College London.
Becky Laney, an advanced nurse practitioner at Yeovil Hospital and the trust's principal investigator for the study, said patients often tell her that changing medication brand has either improved or worsened their side effects.
"The change in medication brand is a common theme that my patients have brought up with me over the years," she said.
"When I told them we were getting involved in a national study looking into whether certain brands cause more side effects than others, so many people were eager to take part."
Laney said patients often feel strongly about which brand works best for them, but that it isn't always possible to get hold of their preferred option.
"If a patient feels a particular brand suits them, they'll often try to hunt it down in local pharmacies, but this can be difficult, and sometimes their preferred brand is impossible to find," she said.
"Most women won't receive the same brand every time, and although they may feel better on one, they're not guaranteed it at their next prescription.
"We've even had women return to us for help when their GP hasn't been able to source a particular brand, and sadly we've seen others stop treatment altogether because they can't cope with the side effects of a different one."
Laney said that while there's been research into managing endocrine side effects generally, little work has looked specifically at whether different brands cause different levels of symptoms.
"The SWITCH study focuses on the impact of brand changes on women's quality of life, their ability to tolerate treatment, and the severity of any side effects," she said.
"We know that a significant number of women stop taking their endocrine treatment because of the side effects, and unfortunately, this is known to increase the risk of the cancer coming back.
"The aim of the SWITCH study is to understand the impact that brand changes truly have on patients."
Zenaida Dagutao, one of the trust's clinical research assistant practitioners, explained how the study works in practice.
"Patients who join the study are followed for nine months and complete a weekly survey, which takes around three to five minutes," she said.
"The main survey asks them to record any side effects they've experienced. There's also a short monthly survey that asks whether participants have been taking their tablets regularly and whether they've picked up a new brand.
"At the end of the nine months, participants complete one last brief survey about their experience, which can be done via a mobile app."
The trust has now reached its initial recruitment target, but the national study centre has asked the team to keep recruiting, with a focus on patients from global majority backgrounds, a group currently underrepresented in the study.
"Once recruitment closes and all our patients have completed their nine months in the study, we'll be eagerly waiting to hear the results once the national data analysis is completed," Dagutao said.