Emad Shash, Leading Cancer Researcher and Director at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article he and his colleagues co-authored, adding:
“Proud to share that our new paper on adherence to oral anticancer medications in breast cancer patients in a low–middle-income country is now published. The data from our study tell a powerful story: even when the ‘right’ oral drug is prescribed, a meaningful proportion of patients struggle to stay on treatment as intended—especially over time and under the pressure of side effects, financial constraints, and complex regimens. The clear message is that access alone is not enough; we urgently need to make adherence a core quality indicator, embed pharmacists and navigators into the pathway, and design realistic support systems for patients in LMIC settings.
This work is a call to action for cancer centers, policymakers, and teams working on the front lines: if we are serious about improving outcomes, we must pay attention to what happens after the prescription is written. Our results highlight patterns of partial, declining, or inconsistent adherence that risk silently eroding the benefits of modern oral therapies. Turning these insights into practice means building simple but intentional structures—follow-up, counseling, risk-based support, and family engagement—that help patients actually take the treatments we fight so hard to secure for them.
I would like to especially recognize Dr. Rana Elshewy for her remarkable dedication, and persistence throughout this journey, and to thank the entire team for their hard work in data collection, analysis, clinical care, and endless revisions. This paper is not just a scientific output; it’s the product of a committed group that genuinely cares about patients, equity, and implementation. I’m proud of what we achieved together—and I’d be very interested to hear how others are addressing adherence to oral anticancer therapies in their own settings.”
Title: Adherence to oral anticancer medications in metastatic versus nonmetastatic breast cancer patients: Insights from a low-middle-income country
Authors: Abdel-Hameed I.M. Ebid, Rana Elshewy, Mahmoud I. Mostafa, Reem Eid, Emad Shash, Mohamed A. Mobarez
Read the Full Article on Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy
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